MKS sports East China's Jiangsu Province on January 1, 2024. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-03-28/b16ce76e-fde0-4671-9edc-4b354642ea5f.jpeg" />

A medical staff member cares for a newborn at the neonatal care unit of a hospital in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on January 1, 2024. Photo: VCG

In line with the 2025 China's Government Work Report's mention of policies to boost birth rates, the Global Times learned that several lawmakers and political advisors have raised proposals about maternity leave, subsidies born by both employers and government, and fertility protection.

Chen Jing, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, has proposed establishing a maternity leave system through legislation. Another NPC deputy and former vice president of the All-China Women's Federation Tan Lin also proposed improving the maternity leave system to help build a fertility-friendly society, the Paper reported.

While Tan suggested prolonging the statutory maternity leave to 126 days from the current 98 days and appropriately extending paternity leave and parental leave as reported by the Paper, Chen told the Global Times that besides specifying the exact number of days for maternity, paternity and parental leave, more importantly, the allowance for these types of leave should be covered by a maternity insurance fund, which is financed by both the employer and the government.

Chen called for sharing the cost of childbirth leave for companies with female employees giving birth in that year, including through a certain percentage of tax reductions to the companies. 

Political advisor Lu Weiying, who is also the chief expert from the Reproductive Medical Center of Women and Children's Medical Center in South China's Hainan Province, proposed increasing leave days to allow young people to undergo premarital examinations and fertility assessments prior to marriage. 

Lu told the Global Times that she suggested women should undergo a fertility assessment when getting married so that they can better plan for childbirth while balancing career development. She also advocated for encouraging childbirth by promoting affordable and high-quality childcare services and flexible employment options to support young mothers in balancing work and parenting.

Echoing Lu's suggestion on understanding one's fertility status, NPC deputy Ruan Xiangyan emphasized the protection of fertility health throughout life, not just for women at childbearing age, but also for children and men.

Ruan, also the founder and chief expert of the gynecological endocrinology department at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, told the Global Times that she proposed that national and local health authorities formulate or strengthen regulations governing medical disclosure for children and reproductive-age patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

"For patients undergoing radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or ovarian surgery, doctors are obligated to explicitly inform them in the informed consent form at the earliest opportunity that subsequent treatments may cause irreversible damage to their fertility," Ruan said.

Ruan said that doctors should also be responsible for informing patients about how to preserve their fertility, including methods to protect the ovaries, eggs, sperm, and embryos. "For female pediatric patients and women of reproductive age facing ovarian function impairment from disease treatment, doctors must provide timely, effective, and scientifically sound fertility preservation options and recommendations to them," Ruan added.

We will formulate policies on boosting birth rates, provide childcare subsidies, vigorously develop integrated nursery and childcare services, and increase public-interest childcare services, read the 2025 China's Government Work Report released on Wednesday. 

The childcare subsidy policy has been implemented in many regions in China. 

According to the National Health Commission, 23 provinces have explored and implemented subsidy policies, with the provincial-level policy coverage achieved in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and East China's Anhui Province. The assisted reproductive medical services have been included in the scope of basic medical insurance coverage in nearly 20 provinces including Beijing and South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Wang Xiaoqing also contributed to the story