Rising infertility hits China

Oct 8, 2009
Rising infertility hits China
Eight in 100 couples now affected, but number may climb to 20: Report

HONG KONG - INFERTILITY in China is rising so rapidly that it may soon reach rates seen in the developed world.

The problem now affects eight in every 100 couples but that number could climb quickly to about 20, according to a report released recently at a forum in Beijing.

The report blamed a sharp decline in the average sperm count of men in China as well as the high incidence of complications from abortions among Chinese women for the rise.

Experts fear that the problem has become so serious that it could affect the country's population planning and threaten its social stability, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

'China has successfully suppressed population growth but it is still important for it to ensure a steady population growth to sustain a healthy economy and maintain social harmony,' the Post quoted Mr Wang Tianping, vice-president of the China Population Association (CPA), as saying at the forum.

Mr Wang, a retired scholar from the prestigious Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was referring to the one-child policy introduced in 1979 to cap population growth.

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.