Maternity leave extended in 25 Chinese provinces

BEIJING — New mothers can have an additional maternity leave ranging from 30 days to 90 days in general in 25 Chinese provincial-level regions, which have completed revising their population and family planning regulations, an official with the National Health Commission said on Jan 20.

The revised regulations also added stipulations about public-benefit child care service development and interest protection for one-child families, Yang Jinrui, an official in charge of demographic surveillance and family development, said at a press conference by the commission.

China released a decision on improving birth policies to promote long-term and balanced population development in July 2021, allowing a couple to have three children.

Following the decision, authorities have adopted a number of measures, including providing maternity insurance for the third child's birth, and easing the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students in compulsory education, Yang said.

After decades of the one-child family planning policy, China partially introduced a two-child policy in 2013 and fully implemented it in 2015, which resulted in the birth of over 10 million more second children in the country, according to the latest population census data released in 2021.