Baby bonuses fail to address the fear of falling behind

When one of my seniors from medical school was pregnant during her surgical residency, she planned the exact date of her C-section so she could complete her training on time. When I asked why she didn’t consider taking maternity leave to recuperate afterwards, she said she couldn’t bring herself to lag behind her peers. “I didn’t want motherhood to slow me down,” she said.

In medicine, it is common for women to delay childbearing until after their early career years, often into their mid-thirties or later. When I speak to friends in professional careers such as law, accounting and consulting, they echo a similar sentiment.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address on September 16 included an increased newborn bonus of HK$30,000 (US$3,800) for second and later children and extended the scheme for three years. Less than a month earlier, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally speech promised almost S$70,000 (US$55,000) in direct support for every child. Two cities with record-low birth rates have both reached for cash.