The turnover rate is 15.7%, and according to a survey conducted in Hunan, 1680 women in Yueyang City resigned due to childbirth in the past 5 years
Some officials believe that population and family planning work are potential achievements, and short-term results cannot be seen;
Some central cities can benefit from the demographic dividend, but lack motivation for population and family planning work;
Some cities and counties with an outflow of population believe that "even if they do more work, their children will still have to work in developed areas when they grow up", so they lack enthusiasm in population and family planning work
Recently, a research report titled "Solving the Difficulty and Obstacle Problems of" Not wanting to Live or Not daring to Live "by the Education, Science and Health Commission of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress was published online, and the report pointed out the above problems.
Pengpai News noticed that around April this year, the Education, Science, Culture and Health Commission of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress took the lead in organizing relevant units to conduct in-depth research on the implementation of the Population and Family Planning Law and the Hunan Provincial Population and Family Planning Regulations. They went to Changsha, Changde, Yueyang and five counties to conduct on-site investigations on maternal and child health hospitals, childcare institutions, and family planning association service projects. The research report affirms that Hunan has achieved good results in implementing the "One Law, One Regulation" at all levels, and also points out some existing problems and shortcomings.
Is the policy effective?
The birth population in Hunan Province has been decreasing year by year since reaching a small peak of 923100 in 2016, and the total population has experienced negative growth for the first time in 2021. In 2022, the birth population was 412000, with a natural population growth rate of -2.31 ‰.
The research report points out that in implementing and optimizing the birth policy, some areas in the province have inadequate understanding and imprecise efforts.
Among them, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee has explicitly requested that by the end of 2022, each city and prefecture should introduce specific implementation opinions or measures in implementing and optimizing the birth policy. As of the end of April 2023, only six cities and prefectures, including Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Changde, Zhangjiajie, and Xiangxi Prefecture, have implemented this requirement of the Provincial Party Committee. The birth rate in Huarong County has been declining sharply for years, but the county has not yet implemented effective measures to encourage and support childbirth. Some places have significantly lagged behind the demand for elderly care in promoting the construction of elderly care service systems at multiple levels and in all aspects.
In addition, some local population work leadership groups rarely hold meetings to study population development issues. The original family planning office of the township was merged into the social affairs service center, with only 1 to 2 part-time personnel. After 2022, the funding for population monitoring work will be separated from the basic public health funds, and there is no document specifying where the funding will come from, resulting in a serious shortage of funding for population monitoring.
Research has found that although many supporting measures for childbirth have been introduced in various regions, their value and rigidity are insufficient, resulting in poor implementation effects.
One is weak departmental collaboration. The collaborative efforts of relevant departments in implementing active childbirth support measures are not yet strong. For example, preferential policies for water, electricity, and gas usage in childcare institutions, such as implementing residential living prices, have not yet been fully implemented. Grassroots comrades have reported that the higher-level departments have not introduced relevant policies and measures, making it difficult to follow up and make breakthroughs below.
The second is that the measures have poor effectiveness. The measures introduced by various regions have not focused on solving the difficult problems of "not wanting to have children, not daring to have children", "not being able to afford to have children, not being able to raise them", and "no one to take care of or manage them", which cannot truly stimulate the desire to have children. For example, in terms of education, although the "double reduction" has effectively reduced the burden of homework and exams on students, some parents' educational anxiety has not been fundamentally alleviated due to the influence of backward educational concepts, and "involution" is still serious.
Thirdly, it is difficult to implement it effectively. A reasonable cost sharing mechanism has not yet been established for maternity leave, parental leave, etc. Changsha City has granted 10000 yuan of childcare subsidies to local registered residence families with three or more children legally, and has increased one housing purchase target for local registered residence families with two or more children, but has achieved little. Some representatives of the National People's Congress and the masses have suggested that having one child is the main cause of declining fertility, and it is not enough to reward only two or three children.
Where is the bottleneck for childbirth?
The total number of women of childbearing age in Hunan Province is decreasing year by year, from 18.84 million in 2016 to 16.76 million in 2022, a decrease of 11%.
According to research conducted by the Provincial People's Congress, Education, Science and Health Commission, women of childbearing age currently face three main difficulties in balancing childbirth, family and self-development:
One is the heavy economic burden - dare not give birth. Many girls express that having an extra child adds to their stress and burden. Among the reasons for not planning to have children, parenting costs, education costs, and housing prices are the three main reasons, which lead to women of childbearing age being forced to postpone or give up childbirth. In addition, the total amount of reimbursement expenses for employee medical insurance and urban and rural resident medical insurance in Hunan Province is much lower than the actual cost of childbirth for women of childbearing age.
The second is the high pressure in the workplace - I don't want to give birth. The "One Law, One Regulation" has made specific provisions on "protecting the legitimate rights and interests of women in employment", but the implementation at the implementation level is not good enough. The government needs to increase efforts in "providing employment training public services for women who have interrupted their employment due to childbirth, balancing the work and family relationships of employees" and other aspects. According to statistics, in the past five years, a total of 1680 professional women in Yueyang City have left their jobs due to childbirth reasons, with a turnover rate of 15.7%. Some female employees are worried that they may be transferred from key positions after pregnancy and may be marginalized. In order to find employment or promotion, they have to choose to postpone or not have children.
The third is weak fertility - unable to give birth. Taking Yuelu District of Changsha City as an example, the incidence rate of high-risk mothers has increased from 43.81% in 2016 to 63.47% in 2021 and 75.01% in 2022. In recent years, the incidence of postpartum depression and high-risk mothers in various regions has been increasing year by year. The infertility rate of couples of childbearing age has risen to over 12%, and the artificial abortion rate of unmarried and childless women has remained high for a long time. These are important factors that suppress fertility levels and lead to a decline in overall fertility. Comrades from grassroots health departments have reported that the main business of some small clinics is to engage in illegal abortion procedures. Once a woman experiences multiple miscarriages, the likelihood of lifelong infertility due to physiological dysfunction increases sharply.
Research has found that the current number of childcare units per thousand population in Hunan Province is 2.5, which is still a certain gap from the target of "4.5 childcare units per thousand population" set in the 14th Five Year Plan. Inclusive childcare services are still in their early stages, facing challenges such as imbalanced supply and demand structure, lagging facility construction, difficulties in institutional survival, and the need to improve service levels. For example, over 30% of infant and toddler families have a strong demand for childcare, but the current number of childcare facilities can only meet the needs of about 8% of infant and toddler families. Among childcare service institutions in the province, private institutions account for nearly 90%, while non-profit institutions account for only 51.5%.
What measures are there to deal with it?
Regarding the existing problems, the research report of the Education, Science and Health Commission of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress stated that the Population and Family Planning Law stipulates that "financial, tax, insurance, education, housing, employment and other support measures should be taken to effectively reduce the burden of family childbirth, nurturing, and education.". In this regard, our province should effectively implement and improve the guarantee mechanism for services such as compulsory education, women's employment, housing, and childbirth, and pay more attention to designing fertility support policies and measures from the perspective of the entire cycle and process.
According to the Population and Family Planning Law, the state rewards couples with family planning in accordance with regulations; To establish and improve a social security system that promotes childbirth; Couples who have children in accordance with laws and regulations can receive extended maternity leave or other welfare benefits; Establishing parental leave in places with conditions; During pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, women are entitled to special labor protection in accordance with regulations. The report suggests that Hunan Province should effectively implement this. At the same time, we need to improve policies to support employment and flexible employment after childbirth, support enterprises in setting up "mother positions", and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women in employment. Widely carry out the study and promotion of "one law, one regulation", increase the efforts of adolescent sexual and reproductive health education, strengthen the guidance of young people's correct views on marriage and family, and build a new type of marriage and childbirth culture.
The report also calls on people's governments at or above the county level to take comprehensive measures such as planning, land, housing, finance, and talent to accelerate the establishment of a universal childcare service system. Introduce policy measures to encourage and guide social forces to establish childcare institutions, and support kindergartens, government agencies, enterprises, and communities in providing childcare services. Priority will be given to supporting the construction of a number of exemplary childcare institutions with guiding functions at the city and county levels, with a focus on building "doorstep" and "unit doorstep" childcare institutions, and encouraging and supporting kindergartens with conditions to enroll 2-3 year old children.
Pengpai News noticed that on September 11th, the research group of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on "Further Improving and Implementing the Active Maternity Support Policy System in Our Province" also engaged in exchanges with relevant leaders from departments and units such as the Provincial Health Commission, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Department of Education, the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, and the Provincial Family Planning Association, focusing on the hot and difficult issues of childbirth policies.
According to the news website of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, during the discussion and exchange, participants expressed that some regions have insufficient ideological understanding and believe that the population issue is a major issue, but not an urgent one. The downward trend is difficult to reverse, and grassroots levels are powerless; There is a deviation in the view of political achievements, believing that short-term work cannot see results, and it is better to do projects intuitively. The lack of motivation to introduce fertility support measures is insufficient. This has led to slow progress in some work, and currently only 8 cities and prefectures in the province have issued local policies. In addition, although some places have introduced policies, there are few supporting measures, mainly reflected in the extension of maternity incentive leave, personal income tax reduction and other easily achievable matters, and policies such as parenting subsidies and childcare subsidies are basically not involved.
To advance the next steps of work, the attendees put forward suggestions. For example, establishing a sound population work target management responsibility system, incorporating population work into annual performance evaluations of various cities, counties, and districts, as well as key inspection items of the provincial party committee and government; Promote the establishment of a sound mechanism for sharing the cost of childbirth among government, enterprises, and individuals; Explore the transformation of county-level maternal and child health institutions and extend the provision of infant and child care services; Explore incorporating more items such as painless childbirth into the scope of maternity insurance payments, and timely increase the standards for prenatal examinations and childbirth subsidies based on medical insurance and other conditions; Explore the provision of care services for infants and young children aged 0-3 and the equalization of financial investment for infants and young children aged 3-6.
