Dramatic increase of Cesarean deliveries in the midst of health reforms in rural China

Cesarean delivery (CD) rates were until recently low in rural China where the population lacked health insurance. In July 2003 the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) was introduced. We report findings from a health systems study carried out in the EC-funded project “Structural hinders to and promoters of good maternal care in rural China” in central and western China. The purpose was to analyze how CD rates changed with the increased level of...