Zhejiang Health Commission questionnaire survey of the second and third children monthly subsidies of 1,000 yuan, many favorable policies to spawn

Source: Health Times Li Xuanzhang

During the Spring Festival, the Department of Women and Children of Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission conducted the "Questionnaire on the Cost of Raising Infants and Young Children Under 3 Years of Age in Zhejiang Province", which was conducted by parents of infants and young children under 3 years old in Zhejiang Province until February 8.

The questionnaire includes questions such as "Assuming that the government subsidizes the birth of two/three children by 1,000 yuan per month (from birth to 3 years old), would you like to have a second/third child?" "In 2021, both spouses will receive financial support from other sources (such as support from the grandparents of infants and young children)" and so on.

As a key term in 2021, the "three-child" birth policy has generally entered the government work reports of various places.

18 provinces have written the three-child policy into the government work report, and some provinces have real estate subsidies

The reporter found that in addition to Zhejiang Province, 18 provinces have mentioned the three-child birth policy in the government work report, mainly focusing on reducing the cost of childbirth, reducing the cost of parenting, reducing the cost of education, and implementing supporting measures in all aspects.

For example, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and other provinces have introduced policies such as free screening of non-invasive prenatal genes for pregnant women, carrying out provincial-level family childcare pilots, and adding new inclusive childcare positions.

Linze County, Zhangye City, Gansu Province, issued a government subsidy of 40,000 yuan when purchasing commercial housing in the county urban area, which launched the "first shot" of the "three-child family housing subsidy"; Hai'an City, Jiangsu Province, followed closely behind, introduced the city's permanent residents' children under the age of 18 when the second-child and three-child families purchase pre-sale commercial housing, respectively, to give preferential treatment of 200 yuan and 400 yuan per square meter.

In order to encourage couples to have three children, local governments have vigorously improved various supporting measures to reduce the cost of fertility and parenting education, or reduce taxes and fees, or benefit pregnant women, or develop public and inclusive kindergartens, or increase infant and child care service institutions.

Judging from the effects of the previous birth policies such as "single two-child" and "comprehensive two-child", positive results have been achieved. According to the data of the seventh national census, the population of children aged 0-14 has increased by more than 30 million compared with 2010, an increase of 1.35 percentage points, and the proportion of "second children" in the birth population has risen from about 30% in 2013 to about 43% in 2021.

Fertility has been liberalized, and the shortage of obstetric beds has eased

The liberalization of the birth policy will be accompanied by problems such as the increase in the demand for obstetric beds and the increase in the number of elderly women. In fact, in terms of the supply of medical resources, the state has been making various preparations in recent years.

According to the "2019 National Medical Service and Quality and Safety Report" previously released by the National Health Commission, the strength of weak professions such as pediatrics and obstetrics has been significantly enhanced in recent years.

The data shows that the number of beds per 1,000 children's hospitals in 2019 was 2.2, an increase of 0.17 over 2015. The occupancy rate of obstetric beds in tertiary public general hospitals decreased from 98.2% in 2016 to 83.7% in 2018, and the shortage of obstetric beds has eased.