Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - All of Hong Kong's public-hospital maternity beds for non-local deliveries are booked until October. A month since the start of the new lunar year, applications for beds have jumped because of the Year of the Dragon, which in Chinese astrology brings luck and wealth. Across Asia, governments are bracing for a baby boom over the next few months. However, some maternity wards are at the breaking point because of the practice by rich mainland Chinese women to have their babaies in the former British territory.
To counter 'uterus tourism', Hong Kong authorities have set a quota of 3,400 births for non-local women in the territory's public hospitals this year, down from 10,000 last year.
Overall, the sector's cap on non-local deliveries will be cut next year, from this year's 31,000 births. On average, 90,000 babies are born in Hong Kong.
Two of the 10 private hospitals with maternity services are so full that they have no more places available in October; the other eight have a few openings on some days in the month, the South China Morning Post reported.
This has raised fears among some Hong Kong would-be mothers that when the time comes, there will not be a place for them.
Some obstetricians also fear that mainland women might have to seek emergency solutions if beds are not available, and that could put their life and that of their babies in jeopardy.
Despite the harsh restrictions imposed under the country's one-child policy, Chinese authorities expect the birth rate to rise by 5 per cent in the Year of the Dragon. They also forecast the demand for diapers to jump by 27 per cent.
In Hong Kong, 70 per cent of families would like to have a baby this year. Similar proportions are found in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
In Taiwan and Singapore, the birth rate is expected to rise by 20-30 per cent. Both countries have some of the lowest birth rates in the world (0.9 and 1.13 respectively).