Beijing dealing with baby boom this year

China’s second child policy, announced this year, has led to a baby boom with the capital Beijing expecting another 300,000 new-born babies by the end of 2016.

A direct consequence of the policy is a sharp increase in pregnant mothers queuing up at hospitals, which is causing hospitals to run short of ‘record slots’.

In China, ‘setting record’ is the main procedure for admitting pregnant women, which is a method obstetrics departments use to evaluate their medical resources in order to decide how many pregnant women they can admit. ‘Setting record’ is thus a guarantee of available beds for prenatal exams and delivery. (Photo 5)