Alarming Trend as Multiple Chinese Maternity Hospitals Close Down
In the past two months, several hospitals in provinces and cities like Zhejiang and Nanxiang have announced the closure of their maternity wards. People’s Hospital Number 5 in Cam Chau City, Jiangxi Province, announced on their WeChat account that their maternity services would cease operations from March 11.
This development comes in the backdrop of Chinese policymakers brainstorming ways to encourage people to have more children, in order to combat the rapid aging of its society.
China’s population continues to decline in 2023, with birth rates dropping to an all-time low and death rates remaining high amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s leaders are concerned that rapid population aging would have long-lasting impacts on economic growth.
The latest data released by the National Health Commission of China reveals that the number of maternity hospitals in the country has decreased to 793 in 2021, from 807 in 2020.
According to domestic media reports, the declining number of births has led many hospitals to be unable to sustain their maternity services.
“Winter seems to be quietly approaching the maternity wards,” writes the Economics Newspaper on March 15.
An increasing number of Chinese women are choosing not to have children due to the high cost of raising a child and their desire to focus on their careers rather than getting married.
Authorities at all levels have implemented various measures and initiatives to boost the birth rate, such as increasing maternity leave, providing tax and financial incentives for childbirth, and offering housing subsidies.
However, a reputable research institute in China recently revealed that the country remains one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child, based on GDP per capita.
While the number of births in hospitals across China has increased during the Year of the Dragon, experts in demographics believe this is only a short-term phenomenon.