 Because there was generally a massive shortage of beds in that era, mothers with routine deliveries were discharged from hospitals within 24 hours.In 1959, the People's Action Party came to power, and in September 1965 the Minister for Health, Yong Nyuk Lin, submitted a white paper to Parliament, recommending a "Five-year Mass Family Planning programme" that would reduce the birth rate to 20.0 per thousand individuals by 1970.This was to become the "National Family Programme"; in 1966, the "Singapore" "Family Planning and Population Board" (SFPPB) had been established based on the findings of the white paper, providing clinical services and public education on family planning.