BEIJING - An increasing number of Chinese mothers-to-be are choosing to give birth in hospitals, which contributes to the drop in China's maternal death rate, according to a report released by the National Health Commission (NHC).

(Photo: IC)

China's rate of hospital delivery has remained over 99 percent in recent six years, and the percentage in rural areas has seen a rise from 51.7 percent in 1996 to 99.8 percent in 2018.

As maternal healthcare continues to improve, the country's maternal death rate, by 2018, has dropped to 18.3 out of every 100,000, down 79.4 percent from 1990, said the NHC's report.

China has also seen a reduced gap of maternal death rate between urban and rural areas. By 2018, the maternal death rate in urban and rural areas dropped by 81.2 percent and 67.2 percent, respectively, from 1990, with the ratio dropping to 1:1.3.