Ye Hua, mother of two children, tells a bedtime story to her children in Shanghai, China, May 4, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

Burdens of a second child

Some surveys suggest the policy has failed due to a lack of comprehensive national support structures rather than parents' reluctance to expand their families.

According to a survey polling dozens of families in Chinese cities, couples in second and third tier cities are more willing to have a second child compared to those in first tier cities.

Conducted by the Twenty-first Century Economic Report, the survey indicates that middle class families in 1st tier cities, with an annual income of 500,000-1,000,000 yuan (about 72,000-140,000 US dollars), do not "dare" have a second baby over financial concerns.

Lack of support for taking care of children is also one of the concerns facing by parents living in big cities.

Citing recent online research conducted by news.qq.com, only 31.4% of the 100,000 respondents plan to have a second child, with 36.6% expressing "no willingness" and the rest, 31.4%, keeping their options open.

Time and energy, economic conditions are reported to be the two principle reasons accounting for not having another child, followed by social security inadequacies, the lack of elementary education facilities, career development, etc.

At the same time, both children and women are faced with limited access to medical care.

Official data show that one out of 450 Chinese people works as an obstetrician, with every 1,000 babies sharing 0.43 of a pediatrician.

Also, as Xinhua News Agency reports, most of the current kindergartens only cater for kids above 3 years old; with infants and toddlers, aged 0 to 3, at risk of being unattended when their parents go to work.

Xinhua also reported workplace gender discrimination against females, especially pregnant woman, which also contributes to a low fertility desire among women.

Rolling out national support

Similar results have been found by t NHFPC. Wang Pei'an, citing the commission's own surveys in 2013 and 2015, said there were three main factors affecting parents' willingness to have a second child: consideration for women's career development; insufficient child-care resources, especially for toddlers, and the cost of bringing up a child.

Finance Minister Xiao Jie said at an earlier news conference that the government is considering a tax deduction for two-child families.

Zhang Xiaoqing, member of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, suggested a general upgrading of existing nurseries to accommodate more children, as well as strict standards for those currently being built, in order to deal with the predicted upcoming kindergarten peak.

NPC member Li Xingling, who is also a middle school teacher, called for an overall increase in benefits for preschool education teachers, particularly to help teachers in rural areas, and make up for the lack of preschool resources across the country.

NPC member, Zhang Xiaoqing, has called for national anti-discrimination legislation in employment, suggesting promoting the development of a maternity insurance system as well as providing more incentives to enterprises with female employees.

The government's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) also pledges to boost public services, including mother and child care, education and social security to support two-child families.

As of 2015, China's population was 1.3 billion and is expected to peak at 1.45 billion around 2030.