China has said that by the end of 2025, all tertiary level hospitals – those with more than 500 beds – must offer epidural anaesthesia during childbirth, in efforts to promote a “friendly childbearing environment” for women, according to a statement from the National Health Commission.
Secondary hospitals, or those with more than 100 beds, must provide the services by 2027, it added, as authorities struggle to boost birth rates in the world’s second largest economy.
Reuters reports that China’s population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024 with experts warning the downturn will worsen in the coming years.
Around 30% of pregnant women in China receive anaesthesia to relieve pain during childbirth, compared with more than 70% in some developed countries, the official China Daily said.
The World Health Organisation recommends epidurals for healthy pregnant women requesting pain relief. In France, around 82% of pregnant women opt to have one, and in the United States and Canada, more than 67% do.
A growing number of provinces across China are also beginning to include childbirth anaesthesia costs as part of their medical insurance schemes to encourage more women to have children.
In June, health authorities in China’s Sichuan province proposed to extend marriage leave for up to 25 days and maternity leave up to 150 days, to help create a “fertility-friendly society”.
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