SHANGHAI — Julia Li has spent much of the past few years wrestling with a dilemma: She was married, in her late 30s, and still undecided about whether to start a family. Li had been putting off having children for years, but now she was running out of time — and excuses. Her family and friends were urging her to have a baby on an … Continue reading China Is Pushing for a Baby Boom. It’s Getting a Baby Bust.
SICHUAN, Southwest China — When Xiao Renchun was four months pregnant in 2011, her belly had already grown much larger than expected. Even for a resident of Guxian Town, which has a high birth rate for twins, her stomach looked enormous. She visited a county clinic for an ultrasound, which showed she was pregnant with triplets. Thinking this couldn’t possibly be true, she visited a … Continue reading The Maybe-Magic Well Water of Twins Town
One of my oldest friends Judy just delivered a baby boy a couple of months ago. As a Shanghainese woman, she followed her life path arranged by her parents: no boy in high school, went to college, found a boyfriend after graduation, got married after dating for two years and then had a son when she reached 26 years old. Everything seems perfect. But when … Continue reading Grandparenting, not Parenting
When East Meets West 