Gung hay fat choy! That’s Chinese for “Wishing you a good and prosperous year.” Just last week, we welcomed the Year of the Dragon – which is considered the luckiest of the Chinese lunar years. Some Chinese communities celebrate all month – others celebrate all year!

And for a lot of couples, the pressure’s on to have a baby before next February, when it becomes the Year of the Snake. In fact, so many couples of Chinese heritage are committed to having a “dragon” child, that 1 in 3 are turning to fertility treatments to increase their chances of a successful pregnancy, even if it’s not medically necessary!

Already, companies that specialize in surrogate mothers and in vitro fertilization have seen a 250% increase in business from Chinese clients. And they expect the trend to continue until the middle of May, which is the cutoff point for conceiving a baby that’ll arrive by February 9th, 2013.

So, why is the Year of the Dragon such a big deal? The Chinese believe in lucky numbers, lucky days, and lucky years. So, they often schedule important life events around those lucky times. And they believe the Year of the Dragon is especially fortunate for babies, marriages, and businesses. And they say that “dragon babies” are supposedly the strongest, smartest and luckiest people. And it’s obvious that a lot of people believe it. The last time it was the Year of the Dragon – back in 2000 – the birth rate in Taiwan alone increased by more than 200,000 babies. So, get ready for another baby boom.