The General Department of Population reports that by October 2008, approximately 95,000 third babies were born in 43 provinces and cities and the figure is estimated to rise to 142,000 by the year’s end. This means the number of the third child increased by 13.8 percent against in 2007.

The boom was attributed to families’ misunderstanding of the 2003 Ordinance on Population in terms of the time to give birth, the number of newborns and intervals between births.

To solve the problem, experts say there is no choice but to enhance public communication and have a decree imposing administrative fines on law-breakers.

Also many doctors have used technical measures to identify the sex of the foetus, as many couples are seeking ways to give birth to a boy rather than a girl. These practices have resulted in a gender imbalance and inequality, which are not acceptable in society.

According to the Ministry of Health, the traditional customs of an agriculture-based society and the far-reaching impact of the Confucian ideology on giving birth have posed a great challenge to Vietnam’s population and family planning programme aimed at ensuring gender equality and improving the quality of life.

The fact is that in an agriculture-based economy like Vietnam, people still have low incomes, infant mortality remains high and there are no insurance services for the elderly. Since rural people make up 73 percent of the country’s population, and basic social services are not well developed, many couples find it difficult to embrace the concept of having one or two children in their family.

Therefore, enhancing communication on population and family planning will not only encourage people to use contraception but also make them better aware of consequences they may have to face in the future.

Vietnam has an additional 1 million babies a year – a figure equivalent to the population of a province. With such population growth, it is difficult to ensure sustainable social welfare for everyone. It also poses a great challenge to the national economy which comes under mounting pressure of job generation, housing and social services.

There is no denying that the population boom has a serious impact on the living environment. For Vietnam, which has met several population and development goals, difficulties and challenges are lying ahead. Despite a fall, the birth rate is not stabilising, the rate of unwanted pregnancies and abortion among adolescents remains high, and the gender ratio at birth exceeds the normal level, with 115 boys against 100 girls. There is also growing concern about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

To overcome these difficulties and challenges, Vietnam should make a greater effort to carry out the national population strategy with the aim of improving the people’s quality of life. However, it needs time to stabilise its population growth.

The Republic of Korea has planned to spend 140 years doubling its population while it is likely to take Thailand 87.5 years to do so. In 2004 Vietnam had 82 million people and it is forecast to double the figure in 50 years.

Vietnam will have to work harder to maintain sustainable population growth, which is the key to improving the quality of life.