China has announced plans to fully cover childbirth-related costs for families as authorities move to incentivise young couples to have more children.
The administration said it would "improve the level of medical expense coverage for prenatal examinations, striving to achieve 'no out-of-pocket expenses' for childbirth," in a report released on Saturday.
It comes as policy makers intensify efforts to halt a deepening fertility slump that is gradually evolving into a long-term economic risk.
The new plan set to come in to effect from 2026, will ensure that new parents face little to no out-of-pocket expenses for giving birth, marking one of the most ambitious social support measures China has considered in decades.
Under the emerging framework, childbirth services including prenatal check-ups, hospital delivery, postnatal care and essential medical treatments, would be fully reimbursed through public health insurance and fiscal support.
The goal, according to policy discussions and pilot programs in several regions, is to remove financial barriers that discourage couples from having children, particularly in urban areas where medical and living costs are high.
China’s fertility rate has continued to fall despite and reached historic lows despite the formal end of all birth restrictions in 2021.
For many young couples, the cost of childbirth, childcare, education and housing has outweighed policy incentives, leading to delayed marriage, fewer births, or opting out of parenthood altogether.
Economists warn that the demographic downturn poses serious challenges to China’s growth model.
A shrinking workforce, an ageing population and rising dependency ratios are already putting pressure on productivity, pensions and public finances.
Authorities now increasingly frame fertility support not only as a social issue, but as a core economic and national development concern.
The legacy of the one-child policy continues to shape today’s demographic reality.
Enforced for more than three decades, the policy successfully slowed population growth but also entrenched small-family norms, skewed age structures and reduced the number of women of childbearing age.
Reversing those effects has proven far more difficult than lifting restrictions alone.
Authorities previously tried to encourage couples to have babies by expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits, and housing subsidies.
If rolled out nationwide, full childbirth cost coverage would represent a significant expansion of China’s welfare system and a clear departure from past population control approaches.
Visitors to Armenia could face temperature screening after a lab worker died from suspected Pneumonic plague in Russia, Yerevan’s Health Mini...
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has called for further integration of infrastructure between regional countries to bolster the ...
The Saudi-led coalition says it has carried out a series of military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen...
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
A large Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region has killed two people, damaged homes and sparked a major fire at a key fuel facility, according to Russian officials and military bloggers.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
Visitors to Armenia could face temperature screening after a lab worker died from suspected Pneumonic plague in Russia, Yerevan’s Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan told lawmakers on Wednesday, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported.
Health advice now reaches people through social media, fitness apps, wearable technology and AI. From detoxes and protein-focused diets to skincare and fitness trends, online wellness content is shaping everyday health choices while raising concerns about misinformation and potential risks.
Global cholera deaths reached their highest annual level in more than 20 years in 2025, despite a decline in reported cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Chinese researchers have developed the world’s smallest CT scanner, a portable device designed to produce images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 17 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of health.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment