. china is gripped by a huge baby boom. 18.5 million children were born in 2016 alone. that's 2 million above the average over the last five years and the highest number this century. >> translator: before families were fine for having a second child. now there's no need to pay for anything. >> china's 1-child policy a population control measure has been lifted. since january 2016, all couples are free to have a second child. in the six months after the policy change, new problems have emerged. death rates during pregnancy and childbirth, maternal death rate increased 30% compared to no contact with water, no getting out of bed, and constant attention by immediate family and relatives. although this custom has changed over the sent tries, mothers are expected to receive postpartum care. with the family's relative

elsewhere, nuclear families are becoming more common be in cities like shanghai and there's been a recent rise in mothers spending their sitting month in facilities rather than at home. one of them is the uib international maternity care center. a year after the one-child policy was listed, mr. older women were having a second child. that month of post nate tal care game became more important than ever. today, 40% of the center's clients are older mothers. this lady is 40. she had a second child 12 years after her first. when she had her first child, this kind of facility didn't exist. >> translator: when i had my

first baby, i bought a book on postpartum care and stayed at home with the support of my family. everything was new for me so i became very anxious over even minor changes in my or my baby's health. so i wanted to come here for my second child, especially because of my age. specialists visit every day, check out any problems an answer my questions. it's a huge relief. >> dedicated baby sitters care for the children. they sleep in the same room to provide 24-hour support to the mother and her baby. for emergencies, there's a call button by the bed for the nurse and doctor. >> translator: older mothers take longer to recover from birth. they can put on weight and often suffer from water retention. their wounds will also heal more

slowly so they, i extra care. therefore, we have an obstetrician, a pediatrician, and other clinical specialists to provide them with health advice and support. >> this postpartum care center in shanghai opened in 2011. it's famous for its dedicated support for mothers and babies. services for families begin before the birth. this is a maternity yoga class for expected mothers. there are also seminars on health, fitness, and other topics. the mothers give birth in the hospital after delivery and being discharged they come to the center. a uib center car goes to pick

them up. the only thing mothers need to do is nurse their babies. they're prescribed total rest. there are approximately 200 specialist staff who all focus on maintaining the health of the mothers and babies. meals are provide by knew anythingists that design amen knew for each mother's situation. the food is low in calories and plain with medicinal the center has 103 rooms. the standard cost to stay at the facility for a someone 55,000 uwoman, around 8,000 u.s. dollars and includes all services. that's about half the annual salary for an office employee in shanghai. this is the most expensive

accommodation plan, the riverside suite. it costs about $33,000 for a month. the rise in older mothers means that the uib generally requires a reservation about four months or more in advance. wang had her second child at age 40. after the announcement that the one-child policy would end, she and her friends were reluctant to discuss having >> translator: the policy changed but we didn't really talk about it. instead of just being open about it and asking directly, a lot of friends my age would subtly probe each other to see if they were having a second child.

i'm the first in our group and it helps us all to be frank with each other. it wasn't really brought up before, but now we are all talking openly about whether we do or don't want a baby at our age. >> china's one-child policy began in 1979 and lasted 37 years. the purpose was to prevent sudden population growth. minority groups and farmers who needed children to work on the farm were exceptions. most couples could only have one child. regular pregnancy checks were made on women old enough to give birth. in some case a second pregnancy led to a forced abortion.

those who had a second child paid a fine set to as much as ten times the average annual wage in their local neighborhood. the policy certainly helped control the population, but it also led to an aging population and a drop in the number of workers in 2012. so the chinese government decided to gradually relax the policy on january 1st, 2016, the one-child policy finally was abolished. all couples could now have a second child. one woman at the uib center was herself born in 1980 during the one-child policy era.

she had a second daughter ten years after her first, age 36, she's from the first generation of one-child families. she explains that she was both excited and fearful of the idea that she could have two children. >> translator: even now it's a strange feeling to think i have another child. when i was a kid, almost every child i knew was also an only child. i played with the other kids from the neighborhood. i don't really know what it's like to have siblings and play with them. i have concerns, but over time i feel even more strongly that my girl is a gift from god. >> 5:00 p.m. her husband arrives with their

>> translator: i already have one amazing daughter, and i'm delighted to have another. although i think the birth left my wife exhausted. >> he works at a foreign insurance firm. he stays in the room with his wife every night to ease her anxiety. >> their daughter is 10 years old and in the fourth grade. nobody else in her class has a new sibling

>> translator: my older daughter still thinks of her baby sister as a doll. she really adores her, but as they grow older they will begin to have their own interests and hobbies. as parents, i'm sure we'll have to deal with their competing with each other for our love and support. this is all new for us, my husband and i discussed this often. we need to think about how we will raise our two girls and about how to balance our affection. >> translator: almost everyone around us is a one had chi-chil.

until last year if you were a family that had two kids it was a big source of guilt. the kids would have a hard time at school. now that the policy has been dropped, we can proudly tell people we have two kids without being embarrassed. my oldest daughter can say that having a little sister is great and i think she'll start to see it as a positive. >> translator: i want to play with my sister. i have a neighbor whosz ten years older than me, she's really nice and i want to be like her for my >> both of their parents are delighted to have a second grandchild. now that parents are allowed to have two children, birth and child-rearing businesses are taking off. there are around 90 accommodation-style postpartum care centers in shanghai and

those businesses charging reasonable rates have increased. there are also many services that provide child care support. this website helps parents search for housekeepers and baby sitters. they can compare information and services from a variety of agencies to find the service that suits them. a luxury condo in shanghai, we visited one family that uses the service. this woman is 37 years old. she has a

and a 1-year-old son. she works at a tv station. she returned to work when her son was six months old. that's why she began using the housekeeping service. >> translator: i have a job so i don't have much time to look after my children. so i need the help of a housekeeper. because she handles a lot of the everyday tasks, i can focus on being with my kids when i'm

home. >> her job is general housekeeping such as cooking and cleaning. she lives in and is paid $730 a month. she's been a housekeeper since 2000, but the rise in birth means her clientele has changed. >> translator: i used to have a lot of clients in their 50s. now i'm seeing more young couples with children. i pay attention to hygiene. >> head-hunting top staff is now important for many shanghai housekeeping and baby sitting agencies. the rise in second births has left some women feeling out of their depth.

pregnancy and childbirth aren't something easy anyone can do. an online message board is used by older women hoping for a second child. they discuss various fears and concerns. >> translator: why is it so hard to conceive in so many people don't understand how hard this is. they ask why i want another child at my age. even when i got pregnant i lost the baby in a miscarriage. i'm getting desperate and losing faith. >> translator: i was born in 1974 and am 43. when i got pregnant four years ago, i had an abortion because of the law.

i've been trying for another baby for four months but no luck. i'm losing confidence. >> translator: i'm the same, i want a baby but can't get pregnant. >> translator: i'm 46. my daughter is 17 and i want another one. let's all keep trying. >> translator: hang in there. i'm 44 but i'm in my fifth week of pregnancy. >> it's a complex tangle of hopes and fears. meanwhile, medical professionals are worried about older mothers' health problems an infant development issues. >> translator: a lot of older mothers need to have sa say ians.

there are concerns about blood loss and infection. many compensations such as diabetes, high blood pressure, andly i did metabolism disorder all become more likely during older pregnancies. that in turn means more risks during delivery. >> the national health and family planning commission calculates that around 90 million couples could have a second child. 60% of those women are 35 or older. and 50% are 40 or older. they would be considered older mothers. the first half of 2016 already showed a 30.6% rise in maternal deaths compared to the previou year. the goverent is formulang a

response. in shanghai, obstetrics units are adding more beds and deploying more infant intensive care ambulance units. furthermore, shanghai has revised local law so that mothers can take an even longer time off work to recover. the central government sets a tol of 98 days for maternity leave, but shanghai has added an extra 30 days. but, there are still problems. >> translator: the biggest problem we have is that there's a huge shortfall of ob/gyn doctors. the burden on each doctor is getting heavier and heavier. we're seeing more and more women wanting children despite the risks of late childbirth. however, you can't deputy new stats staffs overnight so we're really focusing on training. >> on one floor inside a central shanghai hotel is another

postpart postpartum care center. we met another woman who overcame the richks to have her second child 20 years after her first. she is 42 years old. she delivered a boy after a 30-hour labor. she's been trying for a second child ever since the policy was repealed but had so much difficulty that doctors told her she was tlr pregnancy was a miracle. it was. my first child was a natural

birth so i wanted to do the same this time. but i didn't have the strength. i had a c-section and it was pretty tough. >> it was a difficult birth and she ended up spending six days in the hospital afterwards. she was then moved to this center. stamina drops with age and the birth canal is less flexible so older moerjds often have difficultmoerjds often have difficumoerjds often have difficuthmoerjds often have difficuemoerjds often have difficurmoerjds often have difficusmoerjds often have difficu often have

difficult births. it be often takes longer for the wound to recover after >> translator: when she arrived here at the center, she was suffering from severe anemia. she was very pale. her eyes were sunker in her face and she needed the support of someone who walk. she was experiencing a difficult delivery and her wound was in bad shape. so they decided to do a c section and during the operation she lost a lot of blood. after delivery she spent a longer time in the hospital than most patients and has had a problematic recovery.

her wound, her scar, all of those concerns are much better. she recovered well. >> it feels much better but the quantity of her breast milk varies. milk glands can also be affected by age. so regular massage is >> translator: the glands are blocked here. i need to massage the problem that should make the milk flow better. otherwise she'll get lumps. >> she says that the birth really brought home her age.

yet it made her even more determined to do everything she can for her >> translator: i am so happy to have a healthy baby despite my age. not everyone can have a baby when they want one. just wanting one isn't enough. >> her husband is 43 years old. he's a sales manager at a solar battery manufacturer and is excited by their second child. he says their 20-year-old son is studying at a university in beijing and is also celebrating his new brother.

>> translator: we've wanted a second child for so long so i'm delighted. birth doesn't have anything to do with politics. if you can seif, you have a baby, that's the natural way of things. >> many people long for a second child, whatever their age. the chinese government predicts an extra 4 million babies to be born every year until

hello there and welcome to nhk news line. it is 9:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi. donald trump is once again saying a strong dollar is hurting american exporters. that set the dollar tumbling against the yen. let's go to ramin. heard the comments about the dollar from trump before. we're also hearing something different. >> slight difference in the wording. trump accused china of keeping currency weak to make chinese goods affordable during the presidential campaign, but he has said hisin