Unmarried mothers can get payments in Chongqing

Starting on Sept 1, marriage certificates and birth certificates are no longer required to claim maternity insurance in Chongqing, according to a notice by the local healthcare security bureau on Monday.

The maternity allowance is a payment women can get when they take time off to have a baby.

The Chongqing healthcare security bureau said the measure follows instructions on prenatal and postnatal support policies to encourage childbirth that were introduced by the National Health Commission in collaboration with 16 other departments last year.

During the period from July 25, 2022 to Sept 1, 2023, insured women who meet the rules can claim the insurance payment as well.

Before the notice, mothers in the municipality could only be paid a childbirth allowance after giving birth to infants registered in a marriage.

On Aug 17 last year, Liu Juan, deputy director of social welfare security department of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said at a news conference that as long as mothers pay the fees for childbirth insurance, they will be able to claim the childbirth allowance without a marriage certificate.