The wall in front of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Of them, 111 OB-GYN clinics and 73 pediatric clinics have closed over the past decade, a decline of 10.1 percent and 4.1 percent respectively, it said. The birth rate tends to be higher in the second half of the year, Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology secretary-general Huang Min-chao (黃閔照) said, estimating that there would be about 170,000 births this year. The declining number of dedicated OB-GYN clinics could be attributed to the advanced age of the average OB-GYN, the transformation of many clinics to family medicine and the growing trend of opening polyclinics, he said. To address the falling birth rate, the ministry in October last year expanded screening of newborns for congenital metabolic disorders and raised the childcare subsidy allowance.

Source: Taipei Times October 11, 2020 15:56 UTC