Improving the maternal mortality ratio in Zhejiang Province, China, 1988-2008

Abstract

Objective: maternal mortality remains a major public health problem in many countries. The aim of this paper is to describe the progress made in maternal health care in Zhejiang Province, China over 20 years in reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR).

Setting: Zhejiang Province is located on the mid-east coast of China, approximately 180km south of Shanghai, and has a population of 49 million. Almost all mothers give birth in hospitals or maternal and infant health institutes.

Method: the annual maternal death audit reports from 1988 to 2008 were analysed. These reports were prepared annually by the Zhejiang Prenatal Health Committee after auditing each individual case.

Measurements and findings: China has made considerable progress in reducing the MMR. Zhejiang has one of fastest developing economies in China, and since the 86 economic reforms of 1978, health care has improved rapidly and the MMR has declined. During the 1988-2008 period, 2258 maternal deaths were reported from 8,880,457 live births. During these two decades, the MMR decreased dramatically from 48.50 in 1988 to 6.57 per 100,000 in 2008. The MMR in migrant women dropped from 66.87 in 2003 to 21.67 per 100,000 in 2008. The rate of decline was more rapid in rural areas than in the city. There has been a decline in the proportion of deaths with direct obstetric causes and a corresponding increase in the proportion of indirect causes. The proportion of deaths classified as preventable has declined in the past two decades. Social factors are important in maternal safety, and on average 26.8% of maternal deaths were influenced by these factors.

Conclusion: as the economy was developing, maternal safety was made a priority health issue by the Government and health workers. The provincial MMR has dropped rapidly and is now similar to the rates in developed countries and lower than that in the USA. However, more work is still needed to ensure that all mothers, including migrant workers, continue to have these low rates.