High number of births in the auspicious Year of the Pig To prevent a medical shortage caused by the high number of births expected in the auspicious Year of the (Golden) Pig, Beijing's health authority has suggested expectant mothers steer clear of the top hospitals to avoid overloading them. But Xiao Xun, head of the Women's and Children's Affairs Division under the Beijing Health Bureau, said the city has sufficient obstetrics resources, going on the current birth rate. Xiao said the city currently has 3,800 beds and 3,000 medical workers available in its 170 obstetrics departments and hospitals. "The difficulty is that many pregnant women only choose a few top hospitals to have physical checks and deliver, while the other hospitals have beds available," Xiao was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying. Xiao said the auspicious Year of the (Golden) Pig had fueled the birth rate this year, and Beijing expected a total of 150,000 babies to be born in 2007, compared with 129,000 in 2006. The lunar calendar designates one of 12 zodiac signs to each year. The years also rotate through five elements gold, wood, water, fire and earth. In 2007, the Year of the Pig coincides with the element of gold. It is said children born in this year are blessed with a carefree life. This notion has sparked a baby boom across the country. The baby boom has already put hospitals and doctors on alert in major cities. The delivery rooms in major hospitals in Shanghai have been fully booked until March, although some are squeezing up to six expectant mothers into a room designed for four, and will cut short the hospitalization period . Experts warned that irrational family planning would result in a shortage of social resources. Given China's large population, selective birth in so-called lucky years may worsen the existing shortage of social resources, including education and employment. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Agencies)

為了防止金豬吉年大量嬰兒出生造成醫療資源短缺，北京衛生局日前建議，孕婦們不要只考慮那些大醫院，以免造成這些醫院負擔過重。 據北京衛生局婦幼處處長肖珣介紹，按照目前的出生率，北京市并不存在產科資源緊缺的問題。 肖部長說，目前北京各醫院的170個產科共有3800個床位和3000名醫護人員。 《京華時報》援引肖處長的話說：“主要問題在于，很多孕婦只去那幾家好醫院進行孕檢和分娩，而其他醫院則出現床位閑置的現象。” 肖處長說， “金豬年”一說導致今年的生育率明顯增長，北京今年預計將迎來15萬個“豬寶寶”，而去年的這一數字則為12萬9千人。 按陰歷的說法，每年都是十二屬相中的一個“生肖年”。此外，各年份還圍繞著“金、木、水、火、土”五大元素交替輪換。 2007年是豬年，恰巧又逢五行中的“金”，所以就構成了“金豬年”。據說在這一年出生的孩子會很有福氣。 因此，“金豬年”的說法引起了全國范圍內的“寶寶潮”。 在一些大城市，這一生育高潮已經讓很多醫院和大夫繃緊了弦。 上海幾個大醫院的分娩室三月份的床位已經被訂滿，有些醫院將原來的四人房"擠"為六人房，此外，醫院還將縮短產婦的住院期。 專家警告，缺乏理性的生育計劃會導致社會資源緊缺。 中國人口眾多，選在所謂的‘幸運年’生孩子將會進一步加劇教育、就業等社會資源的緊缺問題。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）