ObjectivesTo evaluate the intention of having a second child among females of childbearing age after the implementation of China’s universal two-child policy so as to provide evidence for further studies.MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, CSSCI, PubMed, EMbase and ScienceDirect databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the intention of females of childbearing age to have a second child from January 1st, 2016 to August 31st, 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using R software.ResultsA total of 15 studies involving 18 820 cases were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the fertility rate for the second child of females of childbearing age was 0.42 (95%CI 0.37 to 0.47), and the result was stable. Subgroup analysis showed that the fertility rate of second child in eastern region was higher than that in western region (0.44 vs. 0.40), in rural areas was higher than that in non-rural areas (0.46 vs. 0.35), females aged 18 to 34 was higher than those aged above 35 (0.49 vs. 0.29), and non-working females was higher than that among working females (0.48 vs. 0.40). The fertility rate of the sex of the first child being female was higher than the sex of the first child was male (0.48 vs. 0.39). The fertility rate of the couple who were both the non-only child was higher than the couple who were both the only child and who was only child while the other was non-only child (0.46 vs. 0.41 vs. 0.40).ConclusionsSince the implementation of the “universal two-child policy” in China, the fertility rate of females of childbearing age with the intention of having a second child is lower, especially those females who are from the western regions and non-rural areas, aged above 35 and the sex of the first child is male and non-dual-non-couples. Due to the quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions in future.
