Primary health care among rural pregnant women in China: achievements and challenges in maternal mortality ratio

BACKGROUND: The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is not only an important indicator of maternal and infant safety, but also a sign of the development of economy, education, and medical care in a country. In the last 60 years, the Chinese government has implemented various strategies and policies to reduce the MMR, especially in the rural areas. AIM: This study aimed to discuss the strategies developed by the Chinese government, showing the successful experience of Chinese intervention programs and highlighting the challenges to the government in the context of current economic and social status. METHOD: This study probed into the Chinese government’s efforts and achievements in the MMR reducing by reviewing the relevant health policies, extracting the data from China Health Statistics Yearbook of 2015, analyzing the reduction of maternal death in rural areas and the major causes from 1991 to 2015, comparing the MMR trend in urban and rural areas, and discussing the changes of the situation in China. FINDING: Although it seems that Chinese government’s efforts have brought evangel to the rural pregnant women and significantly reduced rural maternal mortality, the government still needs to develop more equitable and flexible primary health care policies to narrow the imbalance in health resource allocation and pay more attention to the health care for the rural-to-urban migration in China.