China's Lunar New Year: 'Dragon Baby' Boom Expected

Dragon babies are expected to hit China in droves this year, but there won't be any scales, fire-breathing, or mythical creatures involved.

"Dragon babies" refers to children born under the Dragon sign of the Chinese Zodiac, according to an Associated Press report, and children born during the Year of the Dragon, which begins Jan. 23 in 2012, are believed to be blessed with luck and strength.

Bearing that in mind, much of Asia expects a spike in birth rates; according to the BBC, Hong Kong experienced a birth rate increase of 5 percent during the last Year of the Dragon in 2000. AP notes that the birth rate jumped from 1.5 births per woman in 1999 to 1.7 births per woman in Taiwan, a country where not even government-offered cash incentives have succeeded in significantly increasing the low birth rate.

And while parents want all the prosperity and good fortune they can get for their children, the "Dragon Babies" boom may lead to problems in Hong Kong, Reuters reports, as women flee mainland China's one-child policy for the administrative region. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority told Reuters that it saw more than twice the number of non-local mothers giving birth in emergency rooms in 2011 than in 2010 -- even though 2011 wasn't the Year of the Dragon.

According to the BBC, Xinhua state news agency reported that it expects a 5 percent increase in childbirths in 2012. AP notes that along with China and Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macau all expect increased birth rates in 2012.

But the boom isn't expected to last past this year, as the following year of the snake will likely see a dropoff, according to the BBC.

"The dragon baby boom seems unlikely to have a significant impact on the total fertility rates in the long run,'' Dr. Zhang Yanxia told the BBC.

Below, see photos of this year's festivities:

Comments

[kengault]

01:09 PM on 01/27/2012

Stop!! We don't need your babies!

[Chinchillarum]

07:35 PM on 01/25/2012

They baby boom comes because many young couples choose to have their FIRST and most probably only baby in the year of dragon.If they don't give birth in 2012, they could or can do it in 2011 or 2013 or any possible occasion. It has nothing to do with superstition at all. It's just a good wish. Is there anyone who doesn't wish his/her own kid good luck and fortune?

[popart]

03:10 PM on 01/25/2012

the chinese are among the most superstitious people in the world....shame.

[CologneCitizen]

12:16 AM on 01/25/2012

Reading so many comments of ignorance and h8, one can only hope these folks will not have a baby boom this year.

[jaxroam]

12:10 AM on 01/27/2012

The population in China is expected to grow from 1330 millions in 2010 to 1358 millions in 2040 (Wikipedia/US sources, similar numbers elsewhere), an increase of 28 millions primarily due to people living longer rather than birth rate which is among the lowest in the world.

In the same generation the US population, where presumably most of these commentators live, is expected to grow from 308 to 394 millions, an increase of 86 million people. These are projections, but as far as the planet is concerned the young Chinese dragons about to be born this year should not be the source of any worry.

[Texas1983]

11:01 AM on 01/24/2012

Will the abortions performed (disproportionaly) on female fetuses be known as "Dragon Abortions"?

Planned Parenthood could make (another) special t-shirt!

[Jeff Forsythe]

09:25 AM on 01/24/2012

Articles such as this tend to legitimize the West's trading with the brutal Chinese Communist Party. The main concern of anyone who knows the truth about the brutal Chinese Communist Party should be trying to restore any semblance of human rights to China.
By lying to its people and teaching them that God and goodness are unnecessary, the cruel Party has eliminated the morality that used to be there.
The cruel Party has murdered 80 million of its own people since 1949 and is now attempting the genocide of tens of millions of innocent Falun Gong practitioners.
The gangster regime uses torture, slavery, organ harvesting and murder in its paranoid struggle to maintain control of its people.
Human rights, issues that the West use to cherish, but has now turned its back on for financial gains.
This is just my understanding.

[jcko]

07:10 PM on 01/24/2012

Or lack of understanding.

[Realdemocracyplease]

08:38 AM on 01/24/2012

Having worked in Chinese schools for several years I know that these mini booms based on the Chinese zodiac are a fact. It puts horrible pressure on the children as they will have all the other members of their mini boom as competitors for at LEAST the first 18-20 years of their life. They will be competing over seats in over-crowded schools and placement in over-booked universities. Many will have their parents lie to change their birth record to a year before or after their actual birth date when they realize what a mess they made for their kid. The absolute irony of the situation is that they did this to ensure a "better life" for their kid. They also cause problems in school budgets and school planning for following years. There are dips in unpopular years, for example, the rabbit which directly precedes the dragon. The schools, which survive off tuition from the previous year will be underfunded when the big dragon boom hits. It's all kinds of stupid, and as mentioned by so many others, only based on superstition.

[DogsMary]

08:01 AM on 01/24/2012

The Year of the Dragon is said to be filled with power, exhilaration and intensity. A powerful book is "The Dragon's Daughters Return" which chronicles a journey of a group of American families with their adopted Chinese daughters back to China. view: http://tinyurl.com/ddr-book

[doonooch]

04:07 AM on 01/24/2012

Great just what the world needs, another one hundred million mouths to feed all because of superstition.

[doonooch]

04:08 AM on 01/24/2012

and all because of superstition to boot

[adika3z]

02:28 AM on 01/24/2012

china must thinking about baby,
baby is not easily to handle in the family,
china policy rule about ONE child in the one family,
not need 2 to 4 to 6 or more kids,
china is the mostly number one billion people on the earth

[ironchefjay2]

02:19 AM on 01/24/2012

Well......I guess there is alot of humping going on in the next 3 months or so in China.

[beth24]

01:06 AM on 01/24/2012

these are the shark fin soup people who cruelly kill millions of sharks per year for their soup..we need sharks to clean the oceans..these are indecent God-less people who care nothing for human rights or dignity or God's /Nature's planet. Nature will not let them get away with this

[jcko]

07:12 PM on 01/24/2012

I guess you didn't bother to read the article.

[beth24]

01:02 AM on 01/24/2012

as they plan to take over and dominate the world, they have destroyed it with their ignorance, their selfishness and greed they have no respect for animals, oceans, nature, the environment the planet they will die of many diseases and cancer but they will take all of us with them as they destroy the planet these and others who over populate will be punished by a Higher Power who will destroy them back for their lack of spirituality and respect

[santacruzbluz]

07:05 AM on 01/24/2012

Just reading your posts makes me want to turn off my computer. There's enough judgement and hate in your two posts to last a lifetime.

[macgod42]

10:12 AM on 01/24/2012

I think you must be on about us in the West aren't you........we have already done the damage, the greed is ours, don't blame others for the faults of your kin!

[Roman238]

12:28 AM on 01/24/2012

Like there aren't already too many Chinese on this small (and rapidly shrinking), planet? All this because of a superstition no less. Just as bad as the religions that believe birth control is a sin.