BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China has witnessed a continuous drop in the death rates of infants and women giving birth as the country's maternal healthcare keeps improving, health authorities said in a report.

A newborn is fed by a nurse in a hospital in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on May 12, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

The under-five, infant and neonatal mortality rates all went down in 2018 to 8.4, 6.1 and 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births respectively. In the meantime, the maternal death rate dropped to 18.3/100,000, said the National Health Commission in its annual healthcare progress report for 2018.

The report noted a steady improvement of maternal healthcare services.

In 2018, 99.9 percent of the women in China gave birth in hospitals. About 96.6 percent of the pregnant women had medical examinations before delivery, the report said. More than 91 percent of the children under three years old had access to systematic health services including a health dossier, regular check-ups, and feeding advice for parents.