ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2019
Association of China's universal two child policy with changes in births and birth related health factors: national, descriptive comparative study.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06682663 (Evaluation of the Effect of Live Streaming Exercise on the Improvement of Hepatic Steatosis and Fibrosis in Pregnant Women with MASLD and Its Study Based on the Liver-gut Axis Mechanism.), which is not on this map. Cited by 109 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Evaluation of the Effect of Live Streaming Exercise on the Improvement of Hepatic Steatosis and Fibrosis in Pregnant Women with MASLD and Its Study Based on the Liver-gut Axis Mechanism.
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prevalence and risk factors of compassion fatigue in gynecological and obstetric nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Perinatal prevalence of birth defects in the Mainland of China, 2000-2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of placenta previa among deliveries: An update systematic review and meta-analysis after the introduction of the two-child policy in Mainland China.Journal of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Preterm delivery rate in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Pooled it
- Increasing prevalence of cerebral palsy among children and adolescents in China 1988-2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Zishen Yutai Pill increased live births in advanced maternal age women: a randomized clinical trial.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Using the teach-back method to improve postpartum maternal-infant health among women with limited maternal health literacy: a randomized controlled study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Trial
- Maternal and perinatal outcomes across China's one-child, two-child, and three-child policy periods: a retrospective cohort analysis of 43,439 deliveries.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Turkish version of the childbirth readiness scale: validity and reliability study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Prevalence, risk factors, and adverse maternal and fetal outcomes of anemia during pregnancy: a retrospective study in China, 2012-2020.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Assessing the impact of China's universal two-child policy on infant health: evidence from a quasi-experimental study.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- China's universal two-child policy and depressive symptoms among women at childbearing age: a difference-in-difference analysis based on the China Family Panel Study.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
- Relationship between lipid profiles and glycemic control in gestational diabetes mellitus women.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Temporal trend and influencing factors of high-risk pregnancy in China: a nationwide longitudinal analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Urban-rural disparities in the trends and causes of maternal deaths in Jinan, 1991-2025: a longitudinal trend analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Maternal Mortality Transition and Subnational Inequities in China, 1990-2023: Comparative Analysis of GBD 2023 and National Surveillance Data.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Article
- Prediction of Pregnancy-Related Complications in Women of Advanced Maternal Age: A Nomogram Based on LASSO and Logistic Regression.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Duration of Folic Acid Supplementation and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study in China.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Results and indications changes by prenatal diagnosis of 3,458 pregnant women: a 10-year retrospective study.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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9 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo measure the association of China's universal two child policy, announced in October 2015, with changes in births and health related birth characteristics.
designNational, descriptive before-and-after comparative study.
settingEvery county in 28 of 31 provinces of mainland China.
participantsBirths included in two national databases: 67 786 749 births from county level monthly aggregated data between January 2014 and December 2017; and 31 786 279 deliveries from individual level delivery information records between January 2015 and December 2017.
main outcome measuresMonthly mean number of births and mean proportion of multiparous mothers and mothers aged 35 and over, preterm deliveries, and caesarean deliveries.
resultsThe study had two phases: the baseline period (up to and including June 2016, nine months after the policy announcement) and the effective period (from July 2016 to December 2017). The estimated number of additional births attributable to the new policy between July 2016 and December 2017 was 5.40 million (95% confidence interval 4.34 to 6.46). The monthly mean percentage of multiparous mothers and mothers aged 35 and over increased by 9.1 percentage points (95% confidence interval 6.4 to 11.7) and 5.8 percentage points (5.2 to 6.4), respectively. This increase in older mothers, however, was not associated with a concurrent increase in the overall rate of preterm birth. The monthly mean caesarean delivery rate among multiparous mothers increased by 1.2 percentage points (0.8 to 1.6) from 39.7% to 40.9%, and decreased by 3.0 percentage points (-3.5 to -2.5) among nulliparous mothers from 39.6% to 36.6%.
conclusionsSince its announcement in October 2015, the universal two child policy has been associated with a rise in births in China and with changes in health related birth characteristics: women giving birth have been more likely to be multiparous, and more likely to be aged 35 and over. No evidence of concurrent worsening outcomes (that is, premature births) was seen.
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