Doctors feel pressure of higher risks

Obstetricians are beginning to feel the pinch brought by China's new second-child policy, as more women plan to have a second child at an advanced reproductive age despite possible health risks that could endanger the lives of both mother and infant.

It is agreed that pregnant women older than 35 have a higher risk of pregnancy complications than younger women. The incidence of birth defects also increases along with the mother's age.

However, it is also members of this age group who are trying to grasp what is for them a dwindling opportunity to have another child, according to Li Xin, an obstetrician at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, Hubei province.