Beijing’s Olympic Baby Bulge

Chinese tradition does not view a year of the rat, 2008 for example, as auspicious for childbearing. Beijing’s hosting of this year’s Olympics, however, seems to have put a different spin on matters.In the nation’s capital, the business of obstetrics is booming. The Peking Union Medical College Hospital, for example, is delivering 150 babies a month — a 50% increase. They’ve even had to add beds in the hallway.

Numerous couples have chosen to have “Olympic babies.” Media reports hold that some pregnant women want to give birth on the day of the sporting event’s opening ceremony, August 8, even if doing so requires a Cesarean section.

It’s difficult to know exactly what will inspire some couples to have a child. For details, read here.