Low birthrate feared to bring disaster to Singapore<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (JP): When Susan Lee turned 38 last October, she and
\nher husband James decided to start a family.<\/p>\n
Susan has a thriving career as a communications director at a
\nmultinational level and James is an event organizer at one of the
\ncountry's top entertainment firms.<\/p>\n
After five years of happy marriage, they feel they have
\neverything to offer a child -- a cozy three-bedroom apartment in
\na quiet and elite area, a luxury sedan and savings.<\/p>\n
\"A career has always been crucial to me. I didn't want a baby
\nuntil I was sure we had enough money and a harmonious environment
\nfor our future children,\" Susan said.<\/p>\n
But just as the time seems right, Susan could find it too late
\nto have a baby. \"Nothing has happened after seven months. Worst
\nof all, my doctor says I'm infertile,\" sighed Susan.<\/p>\n
Susan shares the feelings of thousands of Singaporean women
\nwho fail to have babies on account of their careers. Many women
\nprefer to postpone or shun marriage and children.<\/p>\n
Leading gynecologist at the Women's Medical Center at Mount
\nElizabeth Hospital Dr. Suresh Nair says infertility is a crisis
\nof the deepest kind. It threatens every aspect of a person's life
\n-- one's sense of self, one's dreams for the future and one's
\nrelationship with others.<\/p>\n
He said that in other Asian countries such as Indonesia, China
\nand India, such a decision may become an effective way to control
\ntheir swelling populations. \"But in this tiny country, it will
\ncertainly bring disaster to the nation sooner or later,\" said Dr.
\nNair.<\/p>\n
A study by the Singapore Institute of Policy Studies reveals
\nthat declining fertility among Singaporean women will cause the
\ncountry's population to slowly grow to only about 3.5 million by
\n2030 from 3.1 million in 2000 and then start to increasingly
\ndecline.<\/p>\n
If this happens, Singapore will have a fast growing aging
\npopulation and less younger citizens to look after the prosperous
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
\"Problems are not mainly because a large number of highly
\neducated women remain single or delay marriage. It is the
\nproblems of the entire nation -- the fruit of successful policies
\nin population control, education, health, politics and economy,\"
\nexplained the doctor.<\/p>\n
He said it was ironic that one of the reasons behind the baby
\nshortage was a successful past campaign by then prime minister
\nLee Kuan Yew in l972 to stop couples having more than two
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
The policy proved too successful, as fertility rates slipped
\nbelow the replacement level of about two and plunged to the
\nlowest rate of 1.4 in l986.<\/p>\n
Alarmed by the lack of newborns, the Singaporean government
\nchanged gear and introduced a new policy l987 to encourage
\nSingaporean couples to have three or more babies. Under the new
\npopulation policy, at least 50,000 births a year were expected
\nbut in l998, the number of births came to only 43,664.<\/p>\n
To persuade couples to have babies, Dr. Nair said, there
\nshould be major changes in male and female perceptions toward
\nmarital and parental lives.<\/p>\n
\"To tell you the truth, it is socially and biologically unwise
\nfor a woman to delay having babies,\" the doctor said.<\/p>\n
Women and men are considered fit and healthy in their 20s. \"If
\nthey get married at 25 to 29 years old, they will likely have
\nhealthy babies,\" he pointed out.<\/p>\n
During these ages, the reproductive cycle of a woman is at its
\npeak, while healthy men in their 20s and early 30s produce
\nquality sperm in terms of number, motility and shape, the doctor
\nmaintained.<\/p>\n
Time<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, women cannot buy time. Their bodies and
\nreproductive system wind down as they age.<\/p>\n
\"You can't say you will get married at 39 and have a baby at
\n40. I am so sorry to say that your chances of achieving your
\ndream are very slim indeed,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For men, it is still possible for them to have babies at 50 or
\n60 as long as they are healthy.<\/p>\n
\"They should not be too happy, though. Busy and stressful
\njobs, promiscuity, pollution will endanger their fertility,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He also warned that changing sex trends had greatly affected
\nthe quality of babies. More and more people in Singapore and
\nother Asian countries have sex in their teens with more than one
\npartner, he said.<\/p>\n
This causes various sex-related diseases including sexually
\ntransmitted diseases, poor sperm as well as a low sperm count for
\nmen, vaginal thrush and other reproductive problems for women, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"When people with various sex-related problems get married,
\nthey will produce ill babies and an unhealthy young generation
\nfor the nation,\" said Dr. Nair.<\/p>\n
He added there were many clinics that treat sex-related
\ndiseases and infertility but the treatments are still very
\ncostly.<\/p>\n
He says Singapore's infertility problem must be addressed
\nimmediately by the government. \"The government cannot just say,
\n'Let's have babies' and do nothing. It should entirely change the
\nsocial system and infrastructures,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In a poll conducted by The Straits Times recently,
\nSingaporean couples answered the government's plea to have
\nchildren by demanding more money, tax breaks, education and
\nhealth care subsidies to altering the work environment to make it
\nmore family friendly, including fighting job discrimination
\nagainst pregnant women.<\/p>\n
\"Before the government makes a public policy, it should
\nthoroughly study the possible impact on society,\" he warned.<\/p>",
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