Couples queue up for test-tube babies as one-child policy relaxed  

重慶:高齡夫妻為生二娃通宵排隊(duì)做試管嬰兒

為拿到市婦幼保健院的檢查號(hào)牌，一些單獨(dú)夫妻凌晨三四點(diǎn)就來排隊(duì)。昨天上午，重慶市婦幼保健院門口排起了一條20多米長的隊(duì)伍，排隊(duì)的人都有備而來，板凳、水杯、餅干面包一應(yīng)俱全。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Long queues have been forming outside a maternity hospital in Chongqing Municipality in Southwestern China for days, as many middle-aged couples seek to consider test-tube technology for a second child, a local newspaper reported.

More than 62 people sat on stools waiting in a line longer than 20 meters on Monday morning, all to consult doctors about test-tube babies.

A test-tube baby refers to a child conceived through in-vitro fertilization, a medical technique in which a woman's egg is placed with her husband's sperm in a laboratory environment to promote fertilization.

A woman surnamed Zhang, in the queue with his husband, said she has a 17-year-old son, but longed for a second child. "Since I am 44 years old, the doctor advised us to seek high-tech ways," Zhang said.

The majority of people in the queue are middle-aged.

A medical staffer at the hospital said many people have been queuing every day recently, and they are trying to get more people registered.

A man in the queue said he came here at 1 am, as he didn't get a numbered ticket last time. Another man surnamed Zhang said the tickets are handed out at midnight, and they have to queue for nearly 24 hours.

Other than restroom breaks, everyone sits there and waits.

The city relaxed its one-child policy this week, allowing couples to have a second baby if either parent is an only child.