CHINA / SOCIETY
SW China’s Sichuan solicits public opinions on extending marriage leave to 25 days, maternity leave to 150 days
Published: Jun 04, 2025 07:48 PM
A neonatal nurse at the Clinical Medical College & Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University gently holds the tiny hand of a newborn in the nursery room on May 12, 2024. Photo: IC

A neonatal nurse at the Clinical Medical College & Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University gently holds the tiny hand of a newborn in the nursery room on May 12, 2024. Photo: IC


Southwest China’s Sichuan Province is intensifying efforts to encourage and support childbirth by extending marriage leave to a maximum of 25 days and maternity leave to up to 150 days, along with other policy improvements aimed at fostering a birth-friendly society. 

The Health Commission of Sichuan Province published on its official website a revised draft of the regulations on population and family planning of Sichuan to seek public opinions and comments between May 30 and June 30. The draft proposes adjustments to marriage leave, maternity leave and related policies, Jiemian News reported on Wednesday. 

According to the draft, Sichuan previously granted only five days of marriage leave. Based on local conditions and with reference to practices in other provinces, the revised regulations extend marriage leave from five to 20 days. An additional five days of marriage leave will be granted to those who voluntarily undergo premarital examinations and fertility assessments prior to marriage. 

Additionally, the province plans to extend maternity leave by establishing a progressive system based on the number of children whose births comply with the country’s population and family planning policies. 
Under the new proposal, maternity leave in Sichuan would be extended to 90 days for the first child, 120 days for a second child, and 150 days for a third child. This represents extensions of one month, two months and three months, respectively, beyond the original 60-day maternity leave period for each case. 

In addition, the province plans to extend spousal paternity leave from 20 days to 30 days to enable husbands to better care for their wives after childbirth and to promote shared parenting responsibilities between spouses. 

Meanwhile, the rules for calculating marriage, maternity, and parental leaves will be improved to reduce discrepancies and conflicts in their implementation. The regulations clarify that marriage, maternity and paternity leaves are counted in calendar days, while parental leave is counted in working days. Parental leave is calculated on an annual basis, with the eligibility year measured from the child’s birth date to their first birthday. 

The draft regulations also propose improvements to funding mechanism and the mechanism for mediating conflicts and disputes to ensure the implementation of the leave policies. 

According to the Statistical Communiqué on the National Economy and Social Development of Sichuan Province in 2024, released on March 17 by the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Statistics, the province’s permanent resident population has declined for two consecutive years from 83.74 million at the end of 2022 to 83.68 million at the end of 2023, and further down to 83.64 million by the end of 2024. Additionally, Sichuan’s natural population growth rate has been decreasing for seven consecutive years. 

Global Times