"Having Many Kids Without Money"…Chinese Netizens Criticize Couple Who Had Quadruplets

Couple Who Gave Birth to Quadruplets Last Month
"Can't Afford Hospital Bills"
Netizens Say "Why Didn't You Consider Your Financial Situation?"

A couple in China who gave birth to quadruplets and now has six children has appealed for financial support but faced criticism from netizens. The criticism stems from the belief that they had multiple children without considering the future despite their lack of financial means.

On the 3rd (local time), according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) and others, the couple surnamed Li (李) gave birth to quadruplets at an obstetrics hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on the 23rd of last month, becoming parents of six daughters. The quadruplets were born more than a month earlier than the due date and were sent to the neonatal intensive care unit. However, the couple could not afford the 40,000 yuan (about 7.53 million KRW) out-of-pocket expense from the total medical bill of 200,000 yuan (about 37.66 million KRW) and sought help from the media and those around them.

A couple living in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, expressed their burden over the medical expenses for their quadruplets after giving birth.
[Image source=Weibo]

The couple works at a company in Shenzhen, earning only 10,000 yuan (about 1.88 million KRW) per month. Moreover, the wife quit her job upon becoming pregnant, tightening their income further. Their home consists of one room, a kitchen, and a living room, with a monthly rent of 2,000 yuan (about 380,000 KRW), and their daughter's kindergarten tuition for one semester amounts to 7,000 yuan (about 1.32 million KRW).

The husband said, "I am an ordinary office worker with a meager income. I feel powerless," adding, "I am happy that the quadruplets were born, but I am also worried about how to raise the children." He continued, "Raising children requires significant expenses. I hope kind-hearted people will help. There is no other way." The wife also said, "The only problem is the financial burden ahead."

However, local netizens who learned about the couple's story responded negatively. Comments included, "How can you think of raising many children without money?" and "It is the fault of parents who gave birth without considering their economic capacity."

In response, the husband explained, "When we first found out about the pregnancy, we were told it was a singleton. We thought that with a little effort, raising three children would not be a problem. But a few months later, upon re-examination, we found out it was quadruplets." He added, "The hospital also recommended selective abortion, but we thought aborting some fetuses could threaten the others."

When some netizens pointed out, "Did you undergo excessive pregnancies and childbirth to have a son?" the husband said, "The gender of the child is not important."

Meanwhile, in China, the trend of young people giving up on marriage continues due to economic recession, employment difficulties, and high housing prices. In fact, the number of marriage registrations in China in the first half of this year was 3.43 million, nearly 500,000 fewer than in the first half of last year. Additionally, the number of newborns in China last year was 9.02 million, the lowest since 1949.