More newborns survive because of hospital birth in China

BEIJING, 28 September 2011 – Hospital deliveries are a key factor in China's declining neonatal mortality according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet in mid-September.

Access to quality obstetric care in hospitals helped decrease the mortality rate of babies less than a month old by 62 per cent.

The study examines around 1.5 million births recorded by China's National Maternal and Child Mortality Surveillance System (MCMS) between 1996 and 2008, covering 116 surveillance sites in urban and rural China.

Extrapolated to the whole country, the findings mean that the policy of expanded hospital delivery helped 250,000 more babies survive in China in 2008 than in 1996.

"We are delighted that The Lancet has published this new evidence which highlights the critical importance of improving the quality of care for mothers to deliver their babies," said Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF China Representative. "Equally important, and this comes out in the study as well, are efforts to urge mothers to make use of hospital and maternity care facilities."

The Lancet report confirms that one of the main reasons for China's success is government efforts to promote hospital delivery and, equally important, to provide financial incentives for rural mothers to deliver their babies there. China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme has played a major role in these developments.

In 1998, less than half of all women in China gave birth in hospital. Today hospital births have become almost universal. The poorest regions experienced an over three-fold jump in hospital births.

Babies born in hospital were two to three times less likely to die than if they were born at home, irrespective of the socio-economic circumstances or the cause of death. Yet, overall, babies born in rural hospitals have an almost four times higher chance of dying.

The first year of life is critical for a child's survival. A recent global report on under-five mortality, jointly issued by WHO and UNICEF, shows that over 70 per cent of all deaths among children below the age of five occur before they celebrate their first birthday. In China, forty six per cent of child deaths occur within the first month of life. The three main causes of newborn death in China are: birth complications, prematurity/low birth weight and birth defects.

UNICEF has supported Ministry of Health efforts to reduce child and maternal mortality since the 1980's. The UNICEF “mother baby health” package, which was piloted in 50 rural poor counties, played a significant role in developing China's current maternal child health services for rural areas.

According to Gillian Mellsop, “It remains an urgent priority to improve the quality of health care for children in China's remote rural communities. We now have to ensure equitable access to these critical services, so they reach the most remote and most vulnerable children. We look forward to continuing to support China in this process.”