Anxious mothers-to-be asking for caesareans crowded a maternity hospital in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province starting in late August, as they want their children to start school earlier, the Yangtze Evening News reported.

Zhuang Hongxian, a head nurse at the hospital, said normally the hospital admits 10 women a day, but 30 caesarean sections were conducted during the last two days, while only 12 babies were delivered through labor during the time.

Chen Tingmei, a doctor at the hospital, said many women prefer to have caesareans before Sept 1 because they want their children to start school one year early.

Wu Tiejun, an official from the local educational authority, said the new school semester starts on Sept 1, and only children over 6 years old can be admitted to primary school.

An unnamed mother-to-be said she chose to have a caesarean because she didn’t want her child to be older than his classmates and step into society later.