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>HONG KONG, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Living under Chinas stringent COVID-19 restrictions for the past three years had caused Zhang Qi enough stress and uncertainty to consider not having babies in the country.When China abruptly dismantled its zero COVID regime last month to let the virus spread freely, the balance tilted to a definite No, the Shanghai-based e-commerce executive said.Stories about mothers and babies not being able to see doctors as medical facilities were overwhelmed by COVID infections were the final straw for Zhang.I heard that giving birth at a public hospital is just horrific. I really wouldn’t consider having a baby, the 31-year-old said.A glimpse of the scars caused by the pandemic to Chinas already bleak demographic outlook may come to light when it reports its official 2022 population data on Jan. 17.Some demographers expect Chinas population in 2022 to post its first drop since the Great Famine in 1961, a profound shift with far-reaching implications for the global economy and world order.New births for 2022 are set to fall to record lows, dropping below 10 million from last years 10.6 million babies - which were already 11.5% lower than in 2020.With this historical turn, China has entered a long and irreversible process of population decline, the first time in China and the worlds history.