Vietnamese Say No to More Kids Even After Two-Child Limit Scrapped

Rising living costs, changing societal values dampen hopes for baby boom

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HANOI - After Vietnam removed its two-child limit, pharmacy worker Nguyen Thi Nguyet Nga says she still has no plans to have more children, as she barely has time to see her daughters, or the money to provide them with a good life.

The country's communist government on June 4 lifted a long-standing ban on families having more than two children, as it battles to reverse a declining birth rate and ease the burden of an aging population.

But rising living costs and changing societal values mean the adjusted law may not bring the baby boom the government hopes for.

Introduced in 1988, the law has been loosely enforced in recent years, and despite its abolishment, 31-year-old Ms Nga said she worries about the costs of having a third child.

It would mean seeing her two girls — aged seven and 12 — even less than she does, or skimping on their education, she told AFP.

"My parents-in-law really want us to have a boy... however, I will definitely not have more kids," Ms Nga said.