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HONG KONG : Hospitals are preparing for a surge of mums-to-be and feng shui masters are consulting their charts as superstitious Hong Kongers seek the best days to have babies in the upcoming Year of the Pig.
A baby boom is expected in both Hong Kong and China as couples plan to have their children in the next Lunar New Year, which begins Sunday and which many believe will be a "Golden Pig" year -- one that will be auspicious for giving birth.
Believers say Golden Pig years come around every 60 years, while others have consulted astrological charts that claim the coming year will be the best in 600 years for having babies.
Chinese astrology divides time into 12 recurring year-long blocks, with each year represented by a different animal; the pig is the last in the zodiac sequence that begins with the rat, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster and dog.
Each year is thought to have different characteristics, according to the represetative animal symbol.
"The pig symbolises birth, according to Chinese tradition, so the Year of the Pig is especially good for having babies. Pigs represent wealth and fortune," said feng shui master Alion Yeo.
"In the old days, we believed the fatter you were, the wealthier you were. Such old traditions are brought to the modern day, so a lot of people believe this year is good to get married and have babies," he said.
The year about to end, the Dog, was especially auspicious for marriages as it was a "double spring" year, the Chinese calendar's equivalent of a leap year and considered lucky for marriage.
Yeo said business had been brisker in the run up to the Year of the Pig compared to the Year of the Dog, with 20 percent more clients seeking advice on when to get married, when to give birth or what names they should choose for their newborns.
"Some clients come to me and ask: 'I'm about to give birth around this time, can you tell me what is a good day for me to have a Ceasarean?'" he said.
"They want a good birth date to ensure their children are healthy and have a good life."
But Yeo added that Caesareans were not foolproof, as they forced natural events.
"Heaven would not allow it," he said, adding that such mums-to-be may find that the spirits put obstacles in their way, such as full hospitals.
"That was why my last client missed the time she wanted -- because heaven didn't allow it," he said.
In the real world, authorities are expected to see an increase in the number of births this year, with Hong Kong's Hospital Authority anticipating 2,000 more "piglets" born in 2007 than the 28,000 in 2006.
"We will increase resources to accommodate a projected increase in the number of babies born in the year of the Golden Pig," said Cheung Wai-lun, director of cluster services at the Hospital Authority.
The authority said it would provide extra nurses and beds, and was training more than double the number of midwives compared with last year to get ready for the surge.
Wong Hon-kwong, deputy chief executive and chief of service of obstetrics and gynaecology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which serves the densely populated Kowloon district, said his hospital expected to be packed with both local and Chinese mainland pregnant women this year.
"We are worried that more people are coming in (from China) because they believe it is a Golden Pig year. I have heard women who said that they would be happy to have little piglets born in the new year," Wong said.
"We are seeing more people giving birth at a traditionally quiet time. We will be prepared for this," he said. His hospital is fully booked with mainland mums-to-be up until May.
Despite the excitement, there is some debate as to whether or not the coming 12 months will be a year of the Golden Pig, as different astrologers predict different things.
Feng shui expert Lee Sing-tong said the coming year would be a "Fire Pig" year.
"I don't know where the Golden Pig year theory comes from. I think someone spread this mainly for commercial purposes," as jewellery shops across the city are filled with golden pig statues, he said.
Fellow expert Raymond Lo agrees: "There is no reason that it is a Golden Pig year at all. It's all a rumour, commercial talk. They want to promote gold," he said. "Chinese people like to describe something as gold because it's a colour of fortune."
Lee said there would be downsides to having Year of the Pig children.
"Their characters would be unbalanced -- they could be more stubborn and opinionated. But I believe parents should let things go naturally, they shouldn't plan their pregnancy."
Fanny Fong, a 22-year-old expectant mother whose son is due this week, said that although she did not plan her pregnancy to coincide with the Year of the Pig, she wants her child to be born in the new lunar year.
"If the year of the Golden Pig means good health and fortune to my baby then I wouldn't mind that my son waits before he comes out in the new year," she said.
Christine Kwok, a 30-year-old accountant was less superstitious.
"I don't plan to have babies because it is the Golden Pig year. I don't believe in it. Of course, everyone hopes their children are healthy and will have a good life," she said.
"But we just let it happen naturally," she added. - AFP /dt
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