Saturday is Population Day in China, and demographics experts have been taking the opportunity to discuss how the loosening of the decades-old 'one-child' policy will affect Chinese society.
Under the newly-revised rules, all couples in China are now permitted to have two children, if they wish. This new 'two-child' policy is expected to add an extra 3 million births every year. But many parents are seriously weighing up the costs of having a second child.
Wang Yanli is 32 years old and pregnant with her first child.
She came to Beijing to find a more highly paid job. But because Beijing is not her home town, Wang Yanli has to take into consideration issues such as school enrollment for her child, as a number of school districts still have restrictions on children whose parents are not registered as Beijing residents.
"I certainly want to send my kid to the best possible school in the future. But there's likely to be restraints, in addition to costs. It may be difficult, even if you have money."
Home prices in China's major cities, such as Beijing, are at 10-year highs, and analysis also shows the average household in Beijing is carrying more than 100-thousand yuan in credit card debt.
It's issues like these which are prompting couples to think long-and-hard about whether or not having a second child makes financial sense.
While many have hailed the government's policy change as 'socially forward-thinking,' Zhang Wei with the China University of Political Science and Law says the government needs to take a broader view.
"The number of people isn't the only driver of social progress and prosperity. It is a comprehensive issue, including education and the distribution of social resources. The government has the responsibility to make full use of the resources at its disposal to gradually improve the conditions in these areas."
Government analysis suggests that three out of every four couples who decide to have a 2nd child are likely to be living in a city.
However, under the current 'hukou' system, one-in-three city-dwellers aren't entitled to social benefits because they're not registered in the city where they live.
Zhai Zhenwu, deputy director of the China Population Association, says a combination of those factors is going to put a lot of additional stress on cities.
"Although the new family planning policy doesn't restrict population growth as strictly as before, it still needs to focus the structure of the population. It can't just control the numbers without paying attention to the structure, nor encourage more births merely for the purpose of regulating population figures."
It's issues like this which have already prompted steps to cap urban growth levels, even as the government encourages people to move into cities from the countryside.
Municipal authorities in Beijing have already proposed plans to adjust the residency permit system in an attempt to cap the population.