HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit on Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

A declining birth rate led lawmakers to approve a new policy on Tuesday that lifts the limit on the number of children many families may have.

"Having children should match one's financial situation, and allow time for personal well-being," says 18-year-old Hanoi resident Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, after Vietnam's communist government scrapped its long-standing two-child policy in an effort to reverse the decline in the birth rate.