A survey conducted by the Fudan University found that Shanghai residents born in the 1980s are reluctant to have a second baby. Among the respondents, 40% said one child is enough for them.

The survey aimed to study the attitude of people born in the 1980s and living around the Yangtze River region. The research team collected 2,367 questionnaires at the end of their survey in Shanghai. Of the participants, 56% said they prefer to have two children. Those with higher educational background were more willing to have a second baby.

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In Shanghai, over 2 million families have parents that are the only child. In the last five years, only 13,000 families applied to have a second baby. But according to a 2013 data from the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, less than 8,000 families actually had a second child.

Experts said the data indicated that even though the family planning rule was already relaxed, the population of Shanghai would not have a significant increase. The one-child policy in the city was loosened on March 1. The change allowed couples to have a second baby if one of the parents is an only child.

In the first month after the policy change was implemented, over 1,700 couples fitting the criteria were allowed to have a second child. The Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said this number comprised 60.8% of all applications for having a second baby.

China Daily and Touchmedia, a company that provides media for taxis, conducted a survey touching the same topic. The poll found out that the greatest factor affecting a couple's decision to have a second child is the high cost of living.

The people born in the 1980s were under China's one-child policy. They have also been through the country's period of reform. This generation makes up about 5.6 million residents in Shanghai.