Association of China’s two-child policy with changes in number of births and birth defects rate, 2008–2017

作者：Hanyi Chen, Ting Wei, Haiyin Wang, Yi Zhou, Yi Zhou, Hua Chen, Lianghong Sun, Shaotan Xiao, Wuren Ma, Huijuan Zhao, Guanghua Chen, Xinlei Liang, Donglan Zhang, Weiwei Zheng, Yixin Zhou, Yixin Zhou, Zhangsheng Yu · 发表于：BMC Public Health · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1186/s12889-022-12839-0 · 被引用次数：29 · 研究领域：Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences、Family Dynamics and Relationships、Assisted Reproductive Technology and Twin Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: In October 2015, China's one-child policy was universally replaced by a so-called two-child policy. This study investigated the association between the enactment of the new policy and changes in the number of births, and health-related birth outcomes. METHODS: We used difference-in-difference model to analyse the birth record data in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.The design is descriptive before-and-after comparative study. RESULTS: The data covered three policy periods: the one-child policy period (January 2008 to November 2014); the partial two-child policy period (December 2014 to June 2016); the universal two-child policy period (July 2016 to December 2017). There was an estimate of 7656 additional births during the 18 months of the implementation of the universal two-child policy. The trend of monthly percentage of births to mothers aged ≥35 increased by 0.24 percentage points (95% confidence interval 0.19 to 0.28, p < 0.001) during the same period. Being a baby boy, preterm birth, low birth weight, parents with lower educational attainment, and assisted delivery were associated with a higher risk of birth defects. CONCLUSIONS: The universal two-child policy was associated with an increase in the number of births and maternal age. Preterm birth, low birth weight, and assisted delivery were associated with a higher risk of birth defects, which suggested that these infants needed additional attention in the future.