Things are looking good for new and expectant mothers in Shenzhen, after the city’s health commission released a draft plan promising Shenzhen women 30 additional days of maternity leave, according to Shenzhen Daily.
With the extra days, some woman can expect 158 days of maternity leave, regardless of whether the mother is having her first or second child.
It has been suggested that the maternity extension is aimed at encouraging families to have a second child – a sharp turn after the country’s long-lived one-child policy, which has only been amended recently. The change also offers older women the necessary recovery time after giving birth.
Yao Jilong, the president of Shenzhen Maternal and Child Health Hospital, has spoken in favor of the amendment, according to Shenzhen Daily, stating the decision reflects Shenzhen’s current situation – where the average age of expectant mothers is expected to move from 28 to 30 years old.
The trend is also supported by reports from Shenzhen hospitals, which are seeing more and more women between the ages of 30 and 45 asking for consultations on having a second child.
The draft goes on further to specify that women who give birth to their first child after the age of 24 are considered as having “late births” and are potentially entitled to an extra period of “late maternity leave” of about 30 days.
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[Image via the Daily Mail.]
