Maternity leave increasing to encourage 2nd children

Mothers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong province are expected to have more days off work after giving birth under the new national policy encouraging couples to have a second child.

The amount of additional leave ranges from 30 to 60 days as many provincial-level regions are soliciting opinions from the public and will implement new regulations this year.

The three regions followed Guangdong province, which was the first to overhaul maternity leave. From Jan 1, mothers giving birth in Guangdong will have 30 more days for maternity leave. Their husbands have five extra days compared with the original 10 to take care of their wives and babies.