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.

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