According to ‘The Guardian” China has improved their rates of infant mortality by promoting hospital births. Studies led by Xing Linfeng and Yan Guo of Peking University published their findings in the Lancent. Their research shows that in 1996 the death rate of infants born in China was 24.7 per 1,000 live births and in 2008 it fell to 9.3. During this period, only half of the women gave birth to their child in a hospital. Instead, they would give birth in the most deprived rural areas of their country. Professor Carine Ronsmans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine also participated in the study and congratulated the Chinese government on its efforts to improve their child mortality rates. Ronsmans expressed why their rates continue to improve by stating, “It’s a combination of strengthening facilities, training providers, equipping them with the skills and drugs to offer better care-and, through insurance, encouraging families to give birth in hospitals.” Maternal mortality rates are also a cause of concern.
As a public health major, I am very pleased to see that more countries are coming to the realization that infant mortality rates reflect the status of their country. The more babies that die due to being born in low socio-economic areas show the government not helping their people. It is critically important to give adequate healthcare to pregnant women. This article does not shy away from stating that although the birth rates are improving, birth defects have remained a problem. If women do not have enough folic acid pre-pregnancy and do not maintain good levels throughout the pregnancy, there is an increased chance of neural tube defects in their infant. I am glad that folic acid is being distributed throughout rural areas. Hopefully we will see a a change in developing countries around the world. I also hope these efforts will continue to rise.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/16/china-cuts-childbirth-mortality-rate
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