With Declining Birth Rate, China’s Hospitals Close Down Delivery Services

Several hospitals in China have closed down newborn delivery services this year, reported China’s Daily Economic News.

Experts warned of an “obstetric winter” due to declining demand in delivery services along with a record drop in new births.

Hospitals in Chinese provinces like eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangxi have announced that they will close their obstetric departments, reported Reuters.

The Fifth People’s Hospital of Ganzhou City in Jiangxi said on its official WeChat account that obstetric services would be suspended from March 11. Zhejiang’s Jiangshan Hospital of Traditional Medicine has closed its obstetrics business from February 1.

China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023. According to China’s National Health Commission, the number of maternity hospitals dropped to 793 in 2021 from 807 in 2020.

Many women in China are opting to remain childless due to high childcare costs. Women also are unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold for bearing children.

China is one of the world’s most expensive places to bring up a child relative to its gross domestic product per capita.