New laboratory to target pregnancy problems
Pressure of work, quick life space and changing attitudes to marriage and raising children are causing local women to delay starting a family, according to local experts.
The average age for women in Shanghai with hukou, or registered residency, to have their first child was 30.29 years old in 2019, about 0.19 years later than in 2018.
The delay in having children and the policy allowing all couples to have a second child have caused age-related problems such as a reduction in fertility and abnormal embryo development, according to local medical experts on Thursday, when the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine was established at the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital.
The laboratory will focus on research related to the wellbeing of both mothers and infants, said Dr Wan Xiaoping, the hospital’s president.
Research will target topics including pre-eclampsia, premature delivery and abnormal intrauterine growth, fetal nervous system development and brain development, officials said.
Health officials and medical experts announce the establishment of Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine on Thursday.
