According to the report by the YuWa Population Research Institute, raising a child until they reach 18 consumes about 6.3 times China's per capita GDP, far higher than the ratios in Australia, France, the U.S., and Japan.

The costs of child-rearing include reduced work hours and lower wages for women, while men's earnings are minimally affected.

The social environment in China is unfavorable for women's fertility, the report notes, due to the high financial and professional costs associated with having children. Consequently, China's average fertility willingness among its citizens is one of the lowest worldwide.

China's population has experienced consecutive declines, with 2023's birth rate around half that of 2016. More women are choosing to forego childbirth due to the high costs of childcare, unwillingness to sacrifice their careers or marry, and the prevalence of gender discrimination.

According to the report, women lose approximately 2,106 working hours and 63,000 yuan (about USD 8,700) in wages when caring for a child aged 0-4. With one child, mothers' leisure time diminishes by 12.6 hours, and by 14 hours with two children.

The report urges the adoption of national policies to alleviate the financial burden of childbearing, such as cash and tax subsidies, improved childcare services, equal maternity and paternity leave, access to foreign nannies, flexible working arrangements, and granting single women the same reproductive rights as married women. These measures could potentially boost the birth rate by around 3 million.

The report emphasizes that China's current fertility rate of around 1.0 is one of the lowest globally. Without improvement, the country's population will shrink and age rapidly, posing significant challenges to innovation and national strength.