ZCZC
BFF-07
CHINA-RECORD-NEWBORNS- 2017
China records 17.6 mln newborns in 2017
BEIJING, July 16, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – A total of 17.58 million new babies
were born in Chinese hospitals in 2017, according to figures released by the
National Health Commission.
About 51 percent of the newborns were not the first child in their
families, said the commission.
In response to a rapidly aging population, China allowed married couples to
have two children from 2016, ending its decades-long one-child policy.
The maternal mortality rate dropped to 19.6 per 100,000 births while the
infant mortality rate decreased to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017.
China also offered free pre-pregnancy health examinations to 11.73 million
people nationwide in 2017, in an effort to reduce birth defect risks.
BSS/Xinhua/MSY/0912 hrs