Assessing male and female clinicians' intentions for a third child in China: a cross-sectional survey analysis with gender-specific insights

Background As fertility rates decline and population ageing intensifies, the conflict between career and childbearing continues to impact clinicians, especially women. Exploring gender differences in the fertility intentions of male and female clinicians could help with identifying barriers to childbearing, developing effective policies to support work-life balance, and addressing the gap in research on gender disparities in this field. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among health care personnel in Chinese public hospitals. Through cluster sampling from highly active WeChat groups, we gathered 698 responses from clinicians to the third fertility intention questionnaire online. We then used descriptive statistics and chi 2 tests for analysis. Results Men (28.28%) had higher intentions of having a third child than women (20.71%) (P = 0.013). In terms of reasons, female clinicians were more concerned than male clinicians about the impact on their career development (P = 0.002), difficulties in job hunting (P = 0.039), and physical injuries caused by multiple births (P < 0.001), and whether the elderly can help (P = 0.001). Conversely, men's apprehensions centred on economic factors such as real house costs (P < 0.001), policy support (P= 0.036), and wives' disagreement (P < 0.001). In discussing governmental interventions, men showed a higher level of interest in policies related to child care (P < 0.001), employment stability for women (P < 0.001), extended maternity leave (P < 0.001), and financial assistance than women (P< 0.001). Conclusions Our findings show substantial gender-specific differences in third-child fertility intentions among clinicians. To address this, the government should consider divisions in family roles, future societal needs, and women's career development. Policies should focus on balancing work and family by offering affordable childcare, flexible parenting leave, financial incentives, and career support, ensuring childbirth does not negatively impact women's professional growth, and fostering gender equality in parenting.