Effective support policies to boost fertility, such as allowing women to work from home for one year after giving birth and offering maternity subsidies, should be implemented in China to reverse the declining birthrate, a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said.

Yin Lihong, who is also dean of Southeast University's School of Public Health, said that after investigating many cities, she found that three factors topped the reasons why people were hesitant to have children－the high costs of childbearing, a lack of nursery care and difficulty balancing work and family commitments.

"It's urgent to encourage births," she said. "We suggest that women's right to work should be protected, more nurseries be established, and more policies to encourage births should be gradually rolled out."

Gender discrimination should be strictly prohibited, and no woman should be fired, forced to change their work or have their salary reduced illegally due to childbirth, according to a proposal submitted by Yin and her colleagues at the annual meeting of the provincial CPPCC, which was held in Nanjing, the provincial capital, from Wednesday to Saturday.

"The government should introduce support policies for employers, either giving subsidies or tax deductions, to encourage them to hire women and reduce their burdens," Yin said.

Xu Jia, who runs a law firm in Wuxi, Jiangsu, said: "Except for some government departments and government-affiliated institutions, many private companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, prefer to hire men than women. It's unfair but it's a reality that we should admit and face.

"To be fair, I understand why many companies hesitate to hire women. They will have to pay women during maternity leave while facing a shortage in the workforce for nearly half a year.

"Companies and individuals shouldn't bear the burden of childbirth alone. The government should take the responsibility and issue concrete measures to boost the fertility rate."

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the national birthrate last year dropped to the lowest level since 1978, with only 10.62 million babies born in the country.

The National Health Commission says many regions in China have extended maternity leave by 30 to 90 days and have stressed promoting the development of affordable nursery care services. Some even issue fertility allowances or housing subsidies.

More nurseries with lower costs should be provided to parents, according to the proposal. It encourages nurseries to take in infants aged 2 to 3 years old, addressing the problem that most nurseries in China now only accept children aged 3 and above.

"We also welcome nurseries to provide service during holidays," Yin said. "It can reduce parents' childcare burden significantly."

Apart from caring for infants, Shen Shanshan, an information technology engineer in Suzhou, Jiangsu, said that the academic burden on students should be further reduced if the government wants to improve the fertility rate.

"The burden cannot really be reduced if colleges still admit students only by their grades," the middle-aged mother of a 12-year-old said. "When you are worried about your child's academic performance, you won't bother having another child."

She added she has given up the idea of having a second child after reading several stories on social media that some parents had heart attacks when guiding their children's homework.

"We encourage qualified employers to roll out flexible working systems for women during pregnancy and lactation," Yin said. "Women might enjoy various ways to spend their child-caring and lactation period－which is usually for one year after childbirth－such as working from home, working part time or keeping the job with their salary suspended."

Guo Jun contributed to this story.