Consequences of Birth Policies and Practices in Post-Reform China

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3973080
AutoresAmanda Harris (0000-0002-9858-2568, Charles Darwin University), Yu Gao (0000-0001-7519-0062, Charles Darwin University), Lesley Barclay (0000-0002-9345-3468, Charles Darwin University), Suzanne Belton (0000-0003-3418-2298, Charles Darwin University), Zweng Wei Yue (Sichuan University), Hao Min (0000-0002-5673-1115, Shanxi Medical University), Xu Auqun (Sichuan University), Liao Hua (Sichuan University), Zhou Yun (0000-0003-2321-424X, Sichuan University)
Año2007
Volumen15
Número30
Páginas114-124
Fecha de publicación2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReproductive Health Matters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0968-8080 • E-ISSN: 1460-9576
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/s0968-8080(07)30315-7
PMID17938076
OpenAlexW2052836665
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas26

This paper comments on the provision of birthing services in Sichuan and Shanxi Provinces in China within a policy context. The goal was to understand possible unintended and harmful health outcomes for women in the light of international evidence, to better inform practice and policy development. Data were collected from October 2005 to April 2007 in 25 hospitals across 13 counties and one city. Normal and caesarean birth records were audited, observations made of facilities and interviews conducted with officials, administrators, health workers, women who delivered in hospital facilities and women who delivered at home. We argue that in the context of a neo-liberal health economy with poorly developed government regulatory policies, those with the power to pay for maternity care may be vulnerable to a new range of risks to their health from those positioned to make a profit. While poor communities may lack access to basic services, wealthier socio-economic groups may risk an increase in maternal morbidity and mortality through the overuse of avoidable intervention. We recommend a stronger evidence base for hospital maternity services and changes to the role of the State in countering systemic problems

Audit · Business · China · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Health care · Political science · Population · Reproductive health · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Global Maternal and Child Health · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Health Policy