Basic HTML Version
10
timeout
M
inh, a 30 year old woman in
Ho Chi Minh City, has been
married for five years and
decided not to have a baby
until she are her husband are both
ready and willing. “I feel comfortable
with the decision so far,” said Minh. “In
the beginning years, marriage is really
hard - sometimes marriage does not
last long. When you both cannot live
with each other any longer, separation
is a good choice if you do not have a
baby. That makes things much simpler.”
Therefore, despite having a good
financial condition and a mother-in-law
who is willing to take care of the grand-
children, they have not had a baby.
Minh said that at the beginning,
when she expressed her idea about not
having a child, she was worried she
would be thought weird in a society
where people consider giving birth al-
most a sacred mission and responsibility.
“That used to be a large load on
my mind,” Minh revealed. “Surprisingly
however, I have found many, many
friends who share my views.”
Khanh Ha, a 39 year old woman
working for a foreign invested company
and her husband have agreed not to
have children: “Taking care of a child
is not an easy task, especially in this
chaotic world with abundant risks and
danger. We live happily together, fol-
low our hobbies and enjoy life.”
The same age as Khanh Ha, Ngoc
Tu has two children and cannot en-
joy such a leisurely life. Sat at a noo-
dle stand for breakfast, she surprised
many colleagues because she quickly
finished it in three minutes flat. “Have
a child and you know why,” she said. “I
get used to doing everything hastily.”
Like many Vietnamese mothers, Ngoc
Tu hardly has any moment for herself,
much less her husband since she has to
take care of two children.
Trung Hau and Thanh Tam are
young couple from Thai Binh City. Now
they are working in Hanoi and have no
child after three years of marriage. “Our
families push us so much about having
a baby. But we are not ready. We earn
less than VND20 million per month and
an apartment is far from our reach. It is
better we settle down before having a
child,” said Trung Hau.
If they had a child at this time, it
would be very hard for them to save.
Thanh Tam’s company is in difficulty,
adding to the doubts: “If I had a baby
at this moment, my work could be seri-
ously affected. When he interviewed
me for this position, my boss com-
plained very much about the women
who are often off work because their
children get sick.”
Dr. Luu Hong Minh, head of Sociol-
ogy Faculty in Academy of Journalism
and Communication concludes: “Many
today women do not want to have
baby now because they are afraid of the
bad impact on their potential for work
promotion. Due to the development of
society, parents now set higher criteria
in rearing a child: nutrition, education
and much more. All this makes people
have fewer children.”
AN AGING
POPULATION
These are not rare cases. This is
now a trend and the birth rate is falling.
The average woman of gave birth to 6.3
children in the 1960s, compared with
2.03 children in 2009 and 1.9 children
in 2011.
The national population goal is set
at 2.1 children per couple, although
current trends indicate that the actual
number will be less. According to the
Health Ministry’s Department for Popu-
lation and Family Planning latest sur-
vey, women in urban areas such as Ho
Chi Minh City give birth to an average
of 1.3 children.
Meanwhile, the Obstetrics Ward of
the Ho Chi Minh City Medical University
Hospital receives over 200 child bear-
ing-age women a day who need consul-
tancy on contraceptive measures.
Trong also pointed out that it is a
normal trend for people to have fewer
children when the country is more de-
veloped and people get higher educa-
O
of family life
SOCIETY AT LARGE
In the old days of Vietnam, having children was a given, but now, life’s pressures
and demands are curbing many young couples’ enthusiasm for starting a family.
LIVING
pting out