As the birth rate falls, many hospitals in China cease to provide baby delivery services

According to state-run news agency Daily Economic News, several hospitals in China have discontinued providing baby delivery services this year, and specialists in the field have warned of a potential “obstetric winter” as a result of falling demand and a historic decline in the number of newborns.

According to notifications seen by Reuters, hospitals in a number of provinces, including southern Jiangxi and eastern Zhejiang, have declared in the last two months that they would be closing their obstetric departments.

Obstetric services at the Fifth People’s Hospital in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi, will be discontinued as of March 11, the hospital said on its official WeChat account.

Jiangshan Hospital of Traditional Medicine in Zhejiang said that it will no longer provide obstetric care as of February 1.

The closures occur as Chinese politicians struggle with how to encourage young couples to have parents in the face of an increasingly pressing demographic issue—a fast aging population.

China’s population declined in 2023 for a second year in a row as a result of the country’s record-low birth rate and high COVID-19-related mortality. Officials worry that this decline will have a significant long-term impact on the country’s prospects for economic development.

According to China’s National Health Commission, the number of maternity hospitals decreased from 807 in 2020 to 793 in 2021. This data is the most latest available.

According to local media, such as Daily Economic News, several hospitals were unable to continue running their obstetrics departments due to the sharp decline in the number of babies born.

“The obstetric winter” seems to be approaching silently, according to a Friday newspaper article.

Due to exorbitant childcare expenses, a reluctance to marry, or the decision to postpone having children in a traditional culture where they are still expected to be the primary caretakers and where gender discrimination is still pervasive, many women in China are choosing to stay childless.

Governments have attempted to increase the birth rate by implementing financial and tax rewards for having children, longer maternity leaves, and housing assistance.

However, a well-known Chinese think tank revealed in February that, when it comes to the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth, China is among the most costly countries in the world to raise a kid in relation to its gross domestic product per capita.

The financial news site Yicai said that since the Year of the Dragon started on February 10, more infants are being born in hospitals around China. The Chinese zodiac sign of the dragon is seen to be especially fortunate. Demographers, however, predict that any boost from a “dragon baby” surge would probably be temporary.