Bloomberg: China Sees Fewest Births in 2018 Since Mao’s Great Famine
“Births in China dropped to the lowest level in almost 60 years in 2018, signaling the country’s looser two-child policy has done little to reverse its slowing birthrate, and worsening the outlook for growth in the world’s second-largest economy…” (Li et al., 1/20).

Xinhua News: China’s maternal, infant mortality rates drop in 2018
“China’s maternal and infant mortality rates declined in 2018 thanks to improved health care conditions, Health News Daily reported. The maternal mortality rate contracted to 18.3 per 100,000 in 2018 from 19.6 per 100,000 the previous year, while the infant mortality rate dropped from 6.8 per 1,000 to 6.1, said the newspaper citing figures released by the National Health Commission. Moreover, the mortality rate of children under the age of five declined to 8.4 per 1,000 last year, compared with 9.1 per 1,000 for 2017…” (1/21).