Hong Kong Fears “Dragon Baby” Overload

Already one of the world’s most populated cities, Hong Kong fears a baby boom from the Mainland in the year of the Dragon. Hong Kong hospitals have put a cap on the number of births allowed from Mainland mothers.

The year of the dragon is traditionally associated with emperors and power, and is seen as an auspicious year to give birth. However, as mothers of "dragon babies" continue to make their way into Hong Kong hospitals, officials are worried they won’t be able to meet the demand.

In 2011, over 10-thousand mothers from mainland China delivered in Hong Kong’s public city hospitals, while over 34-thousand were deliveries from Hong Kong locals.

Some mothers in Hong Kong have protested the increase of Mainland deliveries.

[Dr. Cheung Tak Hong, Prince of Wales Hospital]:
"That's also spark off some hard feeling for the locals because all these pregnant women they come, then all of a sudden our team of staff will have to take care of these non-booked cases and those locals will feel that their services will be compromised. To some extent it is, that's right. That's why there are a lot of, I mean, increasingly we see a lot of argument between the locals and these people from China."

Hong Kong authorities are attempting to cap this year’s Mainlander "dragon babies" to 3,400 to prioritize local mothers. A previous quota of 9,800 in 2010, however, did not deter some mothers from seeking illegal means to dodge the cap.

Other policies aimed at stopping emergency ward-crashing mothers include hiking up fees, increasing immigration and border checks, and cracking down on agents that sneak over mothers-to-be.

Babies born in Hong Kong are given Hong Kong residency. Analysts say China’s one-child policy and the benefits of a Hong Kong birth certificate have increased "birth tourism" to the crowded city.