This week, on New Year’s Day, China officially waved goodbye to its one-child-policy and shifted to a ‘two child policy’, which now applies to all couples.

It’s a long awaited change, prompted by concerns over China's ageing and male-dominated population. Some see the move as an indication that women are gaining more control over their own fertility, rather than having the size of their family dictated by the state.

This, sadly, is not the case. With the two-child policy, women aren’t being handed any more freedom; ‘married couples’ are. The law hasn’t changed regarding what women – independent of men – can do legally.

"The idea of being a single, or unmarried, mother, doesn’t compute in the minds of many Chinese people."

As a Chinese woman in my late 20s, otherwise known as a ‘leftover woman’ (single, unmarried, over the age of 27), I’ve often told my family that, while a marriage certificate isn’t that important to me, having a child will be at some point. To them, this is something of a joke.

The idea of being a single, or unmarried, mother, doesn’t compute in the minds of many Chinese people - young and old. My great aunt, for example, simply doesn’t understand the concept. How on earth can a woman have a baby without first being married?

Having a baby as an unmarried woman, as I slowly – and only recently – came to realise, is not only hugely taboo, it’s technically against policy.

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Of course, you can physically have a baby without a husband (we don’t need to cover the birds and bees here). But it was only in 1997, that sex outside marriage was no longer illegal (it was once classed as 'hooliganism'). Even today, the bureaucratic and legal obstacles don’t exactly work in a woman’s favour.

Chinese parents are deeply involved in the births and marriages of their children. Having a single mother in the family is still a major source of shame for many, particularly where traditional thinking prevails in rural China. For single women who get pregnant, the mentality is: get married or have a termination (this partly explains why abortion rates are so high).

Under current laws, it's illegal for single women in China to access reproductive technology (although men are allowed to be sperm donors) - so some wealthy women have started to go abroad to freeze their eggs. In July this year, Chinese actress Xu Jinglei, 41, revealed that she'd undergone the procedure in the US, in case she ever wanted children - sparking a massive online debate.

"To obtain a birth permit, the IDs of both parents are required, including the husband and wife’s household registration documents."

But where celebrities go, few can follow. In China, the lower down the social rungs you are, the more prejudice you face.

My family is of an educational and social background – China’s new ‘middle class’ – where I would face less social stigma and judgment for being a single mother.

But it’s not just down to family. ‘Permission’ to have a child, first and foremost, comes from the state, whoever you are in China. As part of the nation’s population control programme, every expectant mother needs a ‘birth permit’ (zhunshen zheng) that says yes, you can have a child now.

This permit gets you prenatal medical care and allows you to legally register your child once he, or she, is born.

Navigating the system without a marriage certificate is a huge hassle. To obtain a birth permit, the IDs of both parents are required, including the husband and wife’s household registration documents (hukou).

Single mothers in China can be turned away from hospital (posed by models)

Once you’ve proved that you are married and within legal rights to have a child (not violating the two-child policy) you can ‘establish a record’ at a local hospital, allowing you to start the official process of tests and scans.

The bills can be paid by health insurance or social security. But for single mothers, any medical insurance is defunct, since you are having a child ‘outside the law’. If you cannot provide a birth permit, the money has to come out of your own pocket. Some hospitals may even turn you away. Little wonder then, that many unmarried mothers in China abandon their babies.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle that single mothers in China face actually comes after the birth: legally registering your child, or getting him/her a hukou.

As a single mother, there’s basically one way out. Find a person to get married to.” Ms Liang, 34

Without these registration documents your child isn’t entitled to any state benefits, such as free education, health care, or even a job as an adult. Without a hukou, a person can’t travel on trains, use internet cafes, or even buy a mobile phone SIM card. And to obtain it? You need a birth certificate, which requires details of the father (Hubei province is the exception to this).

Ms. Liang, 34, from Guangdong province, was not married at the time of her son’s birth a year ago. She told me about all the obstacles placed in her way: “They told me I had to provide a paternal DNA test for the birth certificate.”

In the end she married the father (from who she is now divorced) because it was easier. She says: “As a single mother, there’s basically one way out. Find a person to get married to”.

Single mothers face many obstacles in China (posed by model) Credit: Alamy

Alternatively, you can pay the huge fine for having a child illegally, also known as the ‘social compensation fee’ – the same fine that applies for breaching the one (now two) child policy.

In the case of unmarried couples, it can be avoided if the mother and father of the child marry within 60 days of the birth. Alternatively, they must pay a penalty that can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of pounds – depending on where you live and how much you earn.

For a single woman with few connections, little money, and no support, just the process leading up to and after the birth – not to mention the hardship of the actual labour – can be painful.

"Chinese people are direct: 'Why are you having a child if you’re not married?' or 'Where’s your husband?'"

The two child policy will change the face of China's 'modern family', slowly but surely. At some point, that picture will become even more diverse, as the Government abandons child birth restrictions for married couples altogether. But this may be a privilege that doesn't extend to single mothers, or unmarried couples.

Nor will it take into account the judgment from strangers - Chinese people are direct: “Why are you having a child if you’re not married?” “Where’s your husband?”

China's Government may make slow, small changes - but they won't alter attitudes deeply ingrained in its society.

All of which makes me really want to find a husband before having children. My great aunt may have her wish after all.