A baby boom is expected in the coming Year of the Dragon, and those who get impregnated before May 15, 2012 will have the chance to give birth to "dragon" babies, a gynecologist of the Taipei City Hospital Heping Fuyou Branch said yesterday.

Wu Shao-ying, a gynecologist-in-charge at the hospital, said that if a woman becomes pregnant before May 15, next year, she is likely to have a "dragon baby" before the lunar Year of the Dragon falls on Feb 9, 2013, if based on a regular pregnancy period of 40 weeks.

Wu said that for a woman to check her ovulation, the best way is to monitor her basal body temperature, in that a low temperature usually indicates an ovulation time and that the temperature will rise after the ovulation.

Wu continued if a woman sees her basal body temperature stay high for over 18 days, she is very likely to become pregnant.

Amid the strong baby boom in the Year of the Dragon, a significant increase is seen in the number of sterile patients visiting gynecologists for medical treatment, according to Wu.

He said that those who suffer fallopian tube obstruction or endometriosis can hardly become pregnant, but they can try artificial insemination.