Improved child care leave for both parents introduced in Shanghai

A nurse at a hospital in Xiangyang, Hubei province, helps Chen Jing to breast-feed her second child on Friday. [Photo by Gong Bo/China Daily]

New fathers in Shanghai are entitled to 10 days' child care leave, an increase on the previous three days, according to an amendment regarding population and family planning policy passed by the local legislative body on Tuesday.

Women who give birth to their first or second child can enjoy maternity leave lasting 128 days according to the amendment.

Under former regulations, only women over 23 were given an additional 30 days when they gave birth to their first child as a bonus for giving birth later. There were 98 days maternity leave granted to younger mothers.

The measures are designed to better implement China's new universal two-child policy and encourage women to become mothers for a second time, Liu Ping, director of the legal office of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, said.

"An extra 20,000 to 30,000 babies are expected to be born among permanent residents in Shanghai annually in the next three to five years," Wu Qianyu, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, said.