Preview for 2014: Baby boom

Baby boom should spur need for nurses

It is a tradition among new Chinese mothers to hire a confinement nurse after giving birth to a child.

Educational institutions foresee rise in revenue

Education providers will directly benefit from China's new second-child policy as the market will expand, industry insiders said.

Intl birthing agencies expect business to drop

In the three-plus decades since China implemented its family-planning policies, many couples have opted to have their children outside the country.

But agencies helping Chinese women to give birth in the United States may see reduced business due to the new second-child policy, insiders said.

Policy shift to give birth to new demand

Li Yun and his wife are  looking for a bigger apartment where they can live with their 3-year-old daughter and their coming second child.

China deliberates adjusting one-child policy

A bill submitted to China's top legislature for deliberation aims to allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

New 'two-child' rules to start from early 2014

The latest relaxation of the family planning policy will probably be implemented early next year after local administrations finish preparations and local legislatures give the final pass by amending the regulation, said Yang Wenzhuang, an official with the National Health and Family Planning Commission

Diaper firms set to clean up with disposables

Propelled by the policy change, multinational companies in the baby diaper industry have embarked on expansion plans in China.

Mixed feelings over a second child

Young parents are making hard decisions about whether to give birth to another child, after the Party said couples can have two if either the husband or the wife is an only child. 

Embarrassing practice of family planning policy

When my wife and I visited my hometown during the Spring Festival vacation, my parents and relatives talked again and again of the embarrassing topic of us bearing one more child.

Choices of the eligible

About 50 to 60 percent of these couples are willing to have a second child, Zhai said, quoting a recent poll by National Health and Family Planning Commission.

1,000,000 more babies

China will have roughly 1 million newborn babies every year if changes to the decades-long family planning policy are introduced nationwide in 2015, according to demographic calculations.

Post-80 parents spend big on early education

For many parents it's a case of the early bird catches the worm, and they will pay to ensure their kids to be the first on the lawn.

Relaxed rule may not be enough to raise more kids 

While many parents dream that their only child could have a sister or a brother, they also fear having a second child may add to their anxiety and stress.

Nation braces for more babies

Beijing has researched the possible effect of the policy change on population.

Life after loss

Parents who have lost their only child are known in China as "shidu" families.

This group of parents who have lost their only child numbers a million and grows by 76,000 each year.

Family planning policy change too late for some 

Gu,now 41, suffers from anemia and severe backache. She doubts she can live through the pain of childbirth and have a healthy baby.

One-child changes key to balanced population

Changes to China's one-child policy, in place for decades, have aroused discussion, with some demographers seeing the change as a step toward balanced population development.

New rule to create mini baby boom

The relaxation of the family planning policy may bring China roughly 13 million more babies in five or six years.

Two-child study quells fears of a baby boom

Despite fears of a population boom, demographic indicators from Yicheng suggest giving couples the option to have a second child does not necessarily lead to robust population growth.