Sichuan Province Expands Leave Policies to Boost Birth Rate

A neonatal nurse at the Clinical Medical College & Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University was photographed gently holding the hand of a newborn in the nursery room on May 12, 2024.

Sichuan Province in Southwest China is increasing its efforts to encourage childbirth. The province is implementing policy changes designed to create a more birth-friendly environment. These changes include extending marriage leave and maternity leave.

The Health Commission of Sichuan Province released a revised draft of regulations on population and family planning on its official website. The public was invited to provide feedback on the draft between May 30 and June 30. The draft proposes adjustments to marriage leave, maternity leave, and related policies.

The revised regulations extend marriage leave from five to 20 days. An additional five days of marriage leave will be granted to those who undergo premarital examinations and fertility assessments. Maternity leave will be extended based on the number of children. Maternity leave would be extended to 90 days for the first child, 120 days for a second child, and 150 days for a third child.

Spousal paternity leave will be extended from 20 days to 30 days. This is intended to allow husbands to better care for their wives after childbirth and to promote shared parenting. The rules for calculating marriage, maternity, and parental leaves will be improved to reduce discrepancies. Marriage, maternity, and paternity leaves are counted in calendar days, while parental leave is counted in working days. Parental leave is calculated on an annual basis.

The draft regulations also propose improvements to funding mechanisms and the mechanism for mediating conflicts and disputes to ensure the implementation of the leave policies. The permanent resident population of Sichuan Province has declined for two consecutive years. The province’s natural population growth rate has been decreasing for seven consecutive years.