China to make all hospitals offer epidurals to incentivise childbirth

China announced that by the year’s end, all tertiary hospitals must provide epidural anaesthesia for childbirth, a decision aimed at fostering a “supportive birthing environment” for women.

According to a statement from China’s National Health Commission (NHC) last week, tertiary hospitals, which have over 500 beds, are required to offer epidural anaesthesia services by 2025, while secondary hospitals, those with more than 100 beds, must provide these services by 2027.

Officials are facing challenges in increasing birth rates in the world’s second largest economy as China’s population decreased for the third straight year in 2024, with experts cautioning that the decline will intensify in the years ahead.

Approximately 30% of pregnant women in China use anaesthesia for pain relief during childbirth, while in certain developed nations, the figure exceeds 70%, reported the official China Daily.

The World Health Organization advises epidurals for healthy pregnant women seeking pain management, and they are commonly used in numerous countries globally, such as France, where approximately 82% of pregnant women choose to receive one, as well as in the United States and Canada, where over 67% do.

The action will “better the comfort and safety of healthcare services” and “further increase people’s happiness and foster a supportive atmosphere for childbirth,” stated the NHC. An increasing number of provinces in China are starting to cover childbirth anaesthesia expenses in their medical insurance plans to motivate more women to give birth.

Soaring childcare expenses, coupled with job instability and an easing economy, have deterred numerous young Chinese from marrying and initiating a family. In June, health officials in China’s southwestern Sichuan province suggested increasing marriage leave to 25 days and maternity leave to 150 days, aiming to foster a “fertility-friendly society.”