New-generation technology could boost the chances of conception for infertile couples, and aid the government's plans to expand the population, as Yang Wanli reports.

When China relaxed its four-decade family planning policy in January to allow all couples to have a second child, population experts confidently predicted a massive baby boom over the next few years.

However, that may not happen because a rise in the infertility rate among people of optimum reproductive age is likely to pose an obstacle to the government's plans to increase the size of the average family.