Not long ago, the General Office of the State Council issued "Several Measures on Accelerating the Improvement of the Fertility Support Policy System and Promoting the Construction of a Fertility-Friendly Society," which called for the improvement of the fertility support policy system and incentive mechanisms, effectively reducing the costs of fertility, nurturing, and education, and creating a favorable atmosphere of respect and support for fertility throughout society.

"Xinhua Insight" reporters have found through investigation that many regions have already implemented measures to support childbirth, including economic support, service support, time support, and cultural support.

Various support measures are being implemented simultaneously, starting with economic support. According to the National Health Commission, currently, provinces across the country have explored and implemented birth subsidy systems at different levels, with more than provinces having included assisted reproductive medical services into the scope of medical insurance payment according to procedures. In January this year, the Gongtong Village in Wujia Township, Yichang City, Hubei Province, held a party member meeting and a villager representative meeting, explicitly stating that villagers of Gongtong Village who legally give birth to a second or third child will receive a certain amount of subsidy, with a reward of 10,000 yuan for a second child and 10,000 yuan for a third child or more. In January this year, Shangyou County, Jiangxi Province, issued regulations stating, "Families that give birth to a second or third child and have registered the birth in our county will receive a one-time reward of 5,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan, respectively."

Next is service support. In the infant class of Youyou Daycare Center in Linping District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, crawling mats, baby cots, age-appropriate toys, and furniture with low, rounded corners are all available. Babies from individual to monthly age play under the care of nursery staff. In Youyou Daycare Center in Linping District, Hangzhou, nursery staff play with the children in the infant class. (Photo provided by interviewee) Hong Libing, director of the Hangzhou Women and Children's Health Service Center, said that research found a high demand among parents for childcare services for younger infants; currently, Hangzhou has . childcare spots per thousand people, achieving the "14th Five-Year Plan" target ahead of schedule. In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, efforts are being made to accelerate the improvement of the "minute childcare service circle," with community-based childcare centers offering infant classes, small group classes, large group classes, and parent-child classes, providing full-day, half-day, temporary, and hourly childcare services, offering more affordable and reliable childcare services for the public.

Another aspect is time support. It is understood that currently, provinces generally offer around 15 days of paternity leave for spouses, up to 10 days of parental leave, and the maternity leave in various provinces has been extended to over 180 days. "After the extension of maternity leave, I have 180 days, and I will return to work when my second child is six months old, which allows my body to recover better, much more calmly than when I had my first child." Ms. Zhang, who gave birth to her second child this year in January, is not overly concerned about returning to her job in March.

There is also cultural support. In recent years, many places have vigorously promoted wedding customs reform and deepened the transformation of customs. For example, in Luanzhou City, Hebei Province, efforts have been made to address prominent issues such as high bride prices and excessive wedding expenses, leading to the gradual rise of new civilizations such as low bride prices, zero bride prices, and low-carbon weddings. Sichuan Province has guided the establishment of a comprehensive marriage and family counseling system throughout the pre-marriage and post-marriage stages, actively maintaining the harmony and stability of marriage and family; annually, marriage registration offices across the province have conducted over "Happy Marriage Classes" and provided counseling to . million people, successfully resolving . million cases of marriage and family disputes.

Some regions have seen a "rebound" in birth rates. In a thematic symposium held by the Guangdong Population Development Research Institute and the Guangdong Population Foundation this month, a set of data caught public attention. The symposium revealed that from January to July this year, the number of live births in Guangdong hospitals increased by 1.98% compared to the same period last year, suggesting a potential easing of the declining trend in birth rates. In addition to Guangdong, multiple regions have announced a "rebound" in birth rates, including Qingdao in Shandong, Tianmen in Hubei, Baoji in Shaanxi, and Alxa League in Inner Mongolia, where the number of births increased in the first half of the year. Apart from the "Year of the Dragon" birth preference, multiple experts interviewed stated that the fertility support policies already implemented by local governments cover not only the extension of maternity leave and increase in economic subsidies but also the expansion of childcare services, improvement of medical security, and guidance in social culture, making fertility-friendly policies more tangible and accessible, thereby enhancing the fertility intentions of childbearing-age populations.

In the first half of this year, relevant departments in Hangzhou conducted an evaluation of fertility support policies and distributed interview questionnaires. According to the results of the questionnaire survey, the public's most concerned issues were subsidies and education. The five measures introduced by Tianmen City, Hubei Province, to encourage childbirth in 2023 have shown initial success, with the number of births in the area experiencing its first "turnaround" from a decline to an increase in years. Under the local policies to encourage childbirth, families having a second or third child can respectively enjoy subsidies of 10,000 yuan and 15,000 yuan, which include one-time birth rewards, parenting subsidies, and housing subsidies.

Starting from this month, Hangzhou has begun issuing childcare vouchers to families in the five districts and counties of Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Chun'an, and Jiande. The subsidies vary monthly, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 yuan depending on the child's age. In just one month, 1,000 people have successfully applied for the childcare vouchers. Li Aiping, a parent at the Rongda Kaiqi Childcare Center in Fuyang District, Hangzhou, said, "My granddaughter is 10 months old, and the monthly subsidy for her is 2,000 yuan. This saves us a significant amount of money over the course of a year."

Mi Hong, Director of the Research Base for Population Big Data and Policy Simulation (Workshop) at the School of Public Administration, Zhejiang University, believes that extending maternity leave, adding paternity leave for spouses, and parental leave for parents can enhance family cohesion and alleviate the burden of family care; the precise allocation of economic subsidies directly reduces the financial pressure on childbearing families and increases their fertility enthusiasm. Peng Xizhe, Director of the Center for Population and Development Policy Research at Fudan University, stated that advocating for a new marriage and childbearing culture helps society form an atmosphere of respect and support for childbearing, thereby enhancing public fertility intentions.

Further refine policies to ensure their effective implementation, according to experts interviewed. In the current context of low birth rates, building a fertility-friendly society not only requires a comprehensive "combination punch" at the national level but also further refinement of policies, the involvement of multiple stakeholders, and ensuring that policies are effectively implemented. Many people of childbearing age lament the difficulties of "not being able to afford to have children, not being able to afford to raise them." Hong Libing suggests further reducing the costs of childbirth, education, and upbringing, alleviating the pressure and burden on young people; creating a safe, convenient, and humane environment for childbearing and parenting, developing inclusive public childcare services, and encouraging employers to provide childcare services for their employees. Regarding the societal concern over the education of children and adolescents, Chen Wei, a deputy to the National People's Congress and vice president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Quzhou, Zhejiang, proposes that the short-lived baby boom following the second-child policy opening will transmit enrollment pressures in waves to primary and secondary schools. She recommends that relevant departments strengthen demand forecasting for school admissions, carefully design enrollment and adjustment plans, and promote more balanced allocation of义务教育 resources. Multiple interviewees suggest the comprehensive implementation of family development plans, exploring the development of employment, pension, housing, taxation, and insurance systems centered on families, and gradually establishing comprehensive family welfare policies aimed at supporting and ensuring the full development of family members. Mi Hong believes that building a fertility support system requires the involvement of social forces, encouraging enterprises and social organizations to participate in the formulation and implementation of fertility support policies, forming a good situation where the government leads and society co-governs; establishing an effective policy feedback and adjustment mechanism, promptly collecting opinions from the public, experts, and other stakeholders, and dynamically adjusting and optimizing policies.