Study On The Willingness To Give Birth To The Second Child And The Needs Of Maternity Security In Urban Professional Women Of Childbearing Age

Since the 21 st century,the total fertility rate of China’s population has continued to fall below the replacement level,the aging problem has become increasingly severe,the demographic dividend has gradually disappeared,and a lot of population problems like the serious imbalance of the sex ratio between men and women have emerged one after another.In order to cope with the population problem and increase the birth rate of newborns,the state has continuously adjusted the birth policy since 2011 and has continuously relaxed the birth restriction,but the expected results have not been achieved.The desire for low birth rates has become a reality.The mainstream domestic research on childbearing willingness for the second child pays more attention to the population of childbearing age,and the theoretical framework and research paradigm are more westernized.The research on both influencing factors and policy needs is carried out from a relatively macro perspective,and the basic focus is on the basic unit of the family.And there is less research on the female individual as the subject of reproduction.Therefore,this research focuses on professional women of childbearing age who are the subject of childbirth,and adds two production theoretical perspectives on the basis of the child cost-benefit theory,which includes both a microscopic analysis and a macroscopic view.At present,China has entered a stage of high-quality development.The society’s reproductive needs are still huge.Women are encouraged to give birth to two children.However,the current series of reproductive support policies have not fundamentally solved the personal pressure on reproductive issues,which has led to a decline in the family’s reproductive needs.As a means of human reproduction,it is of great significance to social development,and the cost of childbirth should be borne more by society and the family.In this study,Longkou City,Yantai City,Shandong Province(hereinafter referred to as City L)was used as a case study to understand the situation through field investigations.The data collection methods were mainly semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys.Take 172 professional women aged 20-49 in L city as the research object,and select 20 typical cases for participation in observation and in-depth interviews,focusing on the four dimensions of willingness to give birth,gender,time and purpose,using descriptive statistics and other methods Analyzing the survey data and combining the interview data,it is learned that currently 51.6% of urban professional women of childbearing age do not plan to have a second child.Professional women of childbearing age have a low willingness to have a second child.In terms of quantity,the average number of children expected by professional women is 1.46;Professional women who are willing to give birth to a second child prefer to have both children in terms of the gender structure of the child;in terms of the time interval between the births of the second child,they tend to have a difference of more than 3 years between the two children;in terms of the purpose of having a second child,they tend to be satisfied Personal emotional needs and family emotional needs are more important than economic and old-age support.There are six specific reasons why urban women of childbearing age have no desire to give birth a second child,in descending order of the degree of influence: the most important factor is the socio-economic factors;Second,the concept of fertility and elderly care has changed;third,personal physical fitness factors;fourth,work factors;fifth,maternity security factors;sixth,family-level factors;seventh,social-level factors.The needs for maternity protection for these reasons mainly include: first,the demand for economic subsidies;second,the demand for maternity insurance;and third,the demand for maternity support.The problem that urban professional women of childbearing age do not plan to have a second child is fundamentally a problem of a reverse trend between the reproductive needs of the society and the reproductive needs of the family.The low willingness of women to have a second child is rooted in the problem of childbirth cost sharing.Failure to properly solve the problem is the problem of social pressure and social tolerance.At present,families who choose to have a second child,especially mothers,need to bear huge social pressure.This pressure includes both material and spiritual.The second child needs to pay more direct and indirect costs,and the state provides Various childbirth protection supports can only relieve part of the material pressure,reduce the direct cost of mothers,and cannot make up for the indirect cost loss of women of childbearing age.Most of the social pressure is borne by the family.The most intuitive consequence of the family’s inability to bear this pressure is giving up childbearing.In order to alleviate the birth pressure of families of childbearing age and share the cost of childcare for families of childbearing age,especially women of childbearing age,reproductive protection must be optimized in an all-round way.Based on this,the author puts forward policy recommendations for improving childbirth protection: First,advocate scientific fertility concepts and improve the maternity insurance system;Second,promote socialized childbirth,increase the welfare allowances and tax incentives for the second child;third,improve the physical and mental health care system for pregnant and lying-in women;fourth,increase the protection of women’s labor rights;fifth,improve the benefits of maternity leave system to increase the participation of fathers in parenting.In this way,we will find a social policy path that balances two-child birth and women’s development,protect women’s rights and interests in childbirth,pursue women’s liberation,help women of childbearing age to get rid of the plight of childbearing,and build a childbearing-friendly society.