Fertility policy changes, maternal and foetal characteristics and birth timing patterns at a tertiary referral centre in Beijing: a ten-year retrospective study

Bibliographic Details
Title: Fertility policy changes, maternal and foetal characteristics and birth timing patterns at a tertiary referral centre in Beijing: a ten-year retrospective study
Authors: Tao Wei, Jing Huang, Fei Zhao, Dehui Wang
Source: BMJ Open, Vol 14, Iss 2 (2024)
Publisher Information: BMJ Publishing Group, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: Medicine
More Details: Objective This study aimed to explore the impacts of the changing national fertility policy on maternal and fetal characteristics, and birth timing patterns and provide a basis for the management of the obstetric and midwifery workforce.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting Data from medical register of a tertiary referral centre in Beijing, China.Participants We included 20 334 births with a gestational age more than 28 weeks during January 2013–September 2023.Main outcomes The main outcomes included birth numbers, maternal age, parity, birth modes, premature rates, neonatal birth weight, and birth timings.Results The birth rates showed a general rising trend before 2016. Afterwards, the birth rates kept decreasing and reached the bottom level in 2022. The caesarean section rates showed a declining trend, while the assisted birth rates were progressively rising, especially among primiparous women. From 2013 to 2022, the proportions of multiparous women (increasing from 9.3% to 36.6%) and women with advanced maternal age (increasing from 11.4% to 34.5%) were on the rise, together with increasing rates of premature birth (increasing from 5.7% to 8.5%) and neonatal low birth weight (rising from 4.3% to 7.2%) in this population. This study found a significant peak of births between 14:00 and 15:00, which remained unchanged despite shifts in the fertility policy (p
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2044-6055
Relation: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/2/e076987.full; https://doaj.org/toc/2044-6055
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076987
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d8d944cdb8d745f397c82290a7ffb749
Accession Number: edsdoj.8d944cdb8d745f397c82290a7ffb749
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20446055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076987
Published in:BMJ Open
Language:English