Rate of maternal mortality declines

In Beijing, about 280,000 babies were born last year, an increase of more than 30 percent compared with 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

China's maternal mortality rate declined last year, despite a sharp rise in the number of births following the implementation of the universal two-child policy, according to the top health authority.

The maternal mortality rate last year was 199 per 1 million births, compared with 201 per 1 million births in 2015, Ma Xiaowei, deputy head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said at a national conference on maternal health on Friday.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate for children under the age of 5 decreased to 10.2 per 1,000 last year, Ma said.

Various measures taken by health authorities to cope with the impact of the universal two-child policy, which was implemented at the beginning of last year, had helped bring down the maternal mortality rate, he said.

Health authorities will intensify measures in the next two years, the predicted peak season for births following the implementation of the policy, such as improving obstetrics facilities and providing training to medical workers at the grassroots to ensure the maternal mortality rate remains low, he added.

The central government has set goals for the maternal mortality rate to further decrease to 180 per 1 million births by 2020, and to 120 per 1 million births by 2030.

The rate is already much lower than the average level for developing countries, which was 2,390 per 1 million births in 2015, according to the World Health Organization.