Singapore records lowest birth rate for 60 years

via RT:

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Singapore has further relaxed its restrictions on women freezing their eggs, raising the age cap for the procedure from 35 to 37, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social and Family Development announced on Monday, with the new regulations set to take effect in July.

The move comes as Singapore’s birth rate has dropped to just 1.05 babies per woman, the lowest ever recorded for the city-state since it began keeping track over six decades ago. The replacement fertility rate – the number of babies needed to maintain a population at a constant level – is 2.1 births per woman. At the same time, the median age of first-time motherhood in Singapore has jumped from 30.3 in 2013 to 31 in 2020.

The government explained that its decision was informed by international and local evidence showing the success rate of the procedure for women up to 37 years old to be “relatively stable” and claimed to have taken into account the desire of women to extend their fertile years due to “personal circumstances,” such as not being able to find a suitable partner.

The new rules will apply to both women seeking to freeze their eggs and egg donors. Only legally married couples may use their eggs to procreate.

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