Fertility Intention to Have a Third Child in China following the Three-Child Policy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ni Ning, Jingfei Tang, Yizhou Huang, Xiangmin Tan, Qian Lin and Mei Sun ()
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Ni Ning: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Jingfei Tang: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Yizhou Huang: College of Engineering and Design, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Xiangmin Tan: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Qian Lin: Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
Mei Sun: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: China’s three-child policy was implemented in May 2021 to stimulate a rise in fertility levels. However, few previous studies have explored fertility intentions to have a third child and have only focused on childless or one-child populations, resulting in a gap in findings between fertility intention and fertility behavior. Thus, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study on 1308 participants with two children. Results showed that only 9.6% of participants reported planning to have a third child and 80.2% of the population had heard of the policy but had no idea of the detailed contents. Participants with two daughters (OR = 3.722, 95% CI = 2.304–6.013) were willing to have one more child. Instrumental values (OR = 1.184, 95% CI = 1.108–1.265) and policy support (OR = 1.190, 95% CI = 1.124–1.259) were the facilitators. Perceived risk (OR = 0.883, 95% CI = 0.839–0.930) and higher educational level (OR = 0.693, 95% CI = 0.533–0.900) were the leading barriers to having one more child. Therefore, the government should deepen parents’ understanding of the “three-child policy” and devise ways of reducing the negative impacts of having a third child to boost the intention to have more children. Our proposed approach can also be used to better understand the reasons for low fertility rates in other countries.

Keywords: fertility intention; third child; family policy; cross-sectional study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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