Relaxation of the One Child Policy and Trends in Cesarean Section Rates and Birth Outcomes in China Between 2012 and 2016: Observational Study of Nearly 7 Million Health Facility Births

(BMJ. 2018;360:k817) Overuse of cesarean sections throughout the world is a cause of concern due to the potential adverse health effects on the mother and the child. In China, between 2008 and 2014, the cesarean section rate increased from 29% to 35%, although wide variations among provinces existed. To address this issue, the Chinese government introduced various policies and programs at central, provincial, district, county, and hospital levels in an attempt to decrease the rate. As a result, cesarean section rates started to decline, particularly in large urban areas, for example, from 60% in 2009 to 43% in 2014 in Beijing. An important societal change occurred within the country in 2013 when China relaxed its one child policy. The present study examined how the relaxation of the one child policy as well as the introduction of policies to reduce cesarean sections might have affected trends in cesarean section rates and perinatal and pregnancy related mortality rates in hospitals in China between 2012 and 2016.
Source: Obstetric Anesthesia Digest - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Epidemiologic Reports Surveys Source Type: research