© CorbisThe infrastructure will need to be boosted to handle the population growth.
Having a baby in the "Year of the Dragon" is a dream come true for many ethnic Chinese who see the zodiac as an auspicious and powerful portent. But for some Hong Kong mothers, it's a nightmare.
Tens of thousands of pregnant mainlanders come to Hong Kong to give birth every year, taking up limited beds in maternity wards and pushing up delivery costs.
The problem is expected to peak in the Year of the Dragon, which comes every 12 years in Chinese astrology and usually results in a baby boom.
"We didn't plan for a Dragon baby," says 38-year-old Michele Lee, who is expecting her second child, a girl, in April. "It was exciting when we first found out the news but very soon that excitement turned into worry about whether we'll get a place in hospital."
Hong Kong women have recently taken to the streets in protest over the influx of mainland Chinese mothers to the semi-autonomous former British colony. Having their babies in the glitzy -- and relatively free -- southern city entitles the child to rights of abode and education, while providing a loophole the size of Victoria Harbor to China's one-child policy.
Lee says she tried to book a maternity bed at her gynecologist's hospital soon after she found out she was pregnant, but it was already too late.
"I couldn't get my preferred private hospital to deliver even though I'm willing to pay and both me and my husband are Hong Kong residents," she says. "Some friends told me I should start registering my Dragon baby girl for kindergarten -- it's like a fight for hospitals, a fight for schools. I have to remind myself to take it easy."
