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Cited by 53Demographic Trends and Gender PreferencesReproductive Health and ContraceptionGlobal Maternal and Child Health

China’s one-child policy: the economic choices and consequences faced by pregnant women

Doherty, Jim P, Norton, Edward C, Veney, James E·2001·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00175-1
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Abstract

This paper addresses the important issue of the effect of China's one-child policy on prenatal and obstetric care utilization. The paper provides the first detailed empirical approach to this question, exploiting a unique high quality household survey. China officially codified a set of rules and regulations in 1979 governing the approved size of Chinese families, commonly known as the one-child policy. The policy imposed economic and social costs on families failing to adhere to the family size limits. In particular, the policy raised the price of obstetric medical services for unapproved pregnancies in comparison to approved pregnancies and imposed fines on families with unapproved births. Using data from an eight-province longitudinal household survey (The China Health and Nutrition Survey), we investigate whether or not the one-child policy's financial penalties were associated with the avoidance of obstetric care by pregnant Chinese women with unapproved pregnancies. The one-child policy variables of particular interest were a dichotomous measure of the approval status of the pregnancy, a continuous measure of the fine imposed upon families with unapproved births, and a continuous measure of the prices of prenatal care and delivery services net of any subsidy available for approved births. The results partially confirm the hypotheses that the one-child policy's economic and social costs caused women to forego seeking modern obstetric care services. The fine was found to be a significant deterrent to the utilization of prenatal care. Additionally, the unapproved-status of a pregnancy was strongly negatively associated with "the use of obstetric care. However, higher prices were not consistently found to be a significant deterrent to the use of obstetric care.

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  • Botched operations and lack of proper postoperative care resulted in some women having lifelong disabilities.

    “Botched operations and lack of proper postoperative care resulted in some women having lifelong disabilities (Doherty et al. 2001, Chen et al. 2007).”

    From The Social and Sociological Consequences of China's One-Child Policy (2021) · cites this paper as Doherty et al. 2001

  • The main reasons given for abortion in China are contraceptive failure and a lack of government approval for the pregnancy under the one-child policy.

    “The main reasons given for abortion are contraceptive failure and a lack of government approval for the pregnancy under the one-child policy. 8”

    From The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years (2005) · cites this paper as [8]

  • In other studies, 75 percent of respondents in wealthy Jiangsu province were satisfied with their one child regardless of sex, whereas in poorer Yunnan province, 55 percent were satisfied with an only boy, but only 30 percent were satisfied with an only girl.

    “In other studies, 75 percent of respondents in wealthy Jiangsu province were satisfied with their one child regardless of sex, whereas in poorer Yunnan province, 55 percent were satisfied with an only boy, but only 30 percent were satisfied with an only girl. 8”

    From The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years (2005) · cites this paper as [8]

  • The one-child policy acted as a significant hindrance for pregnant women to receive prenatal care, affecting both maternal and infant health.

    “The policy further acted as a significant hindrance for pregnant women to receive prenatal care, affecting both maternal and infant health.”

    From The Social and Sociological Consequences of China's One-Child Policy (2021) · cites this paper as Doherty et al. 2001

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Authors
Doherty, J. P., Norton, E. C., & Veney, J. E.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Corresponding author
Norton, Edward C
ORCID
Norton, Edward C
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2001-03
Volume
52
Issue
5
Pages
745-761
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00175-1
OpenAlex
W2069228483
Cited by
53
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 5
FWCI
6.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
Keywords
one-child policy, family planning, antenatal care utilization, obstetric care utilization, China Health and Nutrition Survey
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, China, Decision Making, Family Characteristics, Fees and Charges, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Maternal Welfare, Obstetrics, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Socioeconomic Factors, Multivariate Analysis, Family Planning Policy, Models, Econometric

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