Bulletin of the Standing Committee of the PC of Hubei Province

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Article 15 Maternal health care services include:
1. Provide medical guidance and counseling on safe motherhood and advise on prevention and treatment of serious genetic diseases and local diseases such as iodine deficiency;
2. Build and maintain files for pregnant women and provide regular prenatal health care services such as prenatal check-ups;
3. Monitor development of fetus and provide counseling;
4. Promote newborn recovery technology, prevent and treat newborn suffocation in a timely fashion;
5. Provide health care services on the growing up, breastfeeding, and nursing of babies;
6. Provide tetanus vaccination for women of childbearing age, especially pregnant women in high-risk regions;
7. Provide pregnant women with quality services in hospital delivery and treatment.

Article 16 Pregnant women, if found to have any of the following during prenatal checkups, shall have further medical examination:
1. Aged over 35;
2. Inclined to give birth to babies with serious genetic disease or deformities;
3. Have taken medicines that may cause deformity of fetus during the early stages of pregnancy or have a history of exposure to harmful chemicals or microbial infection;
4. Have hydramnion, hypamnion, natural abortions and still births with unknown reasons, or underdevelopment of fetus; or show no sign of fetus body during checkups;
5. Other circumstances specified by public health authorities above provincial level.

Article 17 Sex identification of fetus is strictly prohibited except where the fetus is suspected of having sex-specific disease and needs to have its sex identified. Under such circumstances, permission from public health authorities above county level is required.

Article 18 If the fetus is diagnosed of serious genetic disease or defects, or its mother has a disease that will probably threaten her life or seriously affect the normal growth of the fetus, the doctor shall explain the situation to the couple and present a written recommendation for termination of pregnancy.

Article 19 Couples who have given birth to children with serious defects shall, before planning to have another birth, have medical examinations at an MCH institution above county level or a medical institution designated by the provincial public health authorities. For those confirmed of having a disease medically considered not appropriate for pregnancy, the doctor shall explain the situation to the couple and give a written recommendation for termination of pregnancy.

Termination of pregnancy and sterilization operations shall be handled in compliance with the Law on Health of Mother and Infant and relevant regulations of this Method.

Article 20 Medical expenses for those who have, according to law, undergone termination of pregnancy or sterilization operations, shall be covered by labor insurance or at public expense; expenses for those who are not covered by labor insurance or the medical care system shall be paid by the local government from a fund earmarked for family planning operations.

Article 21 Pregnant women shall go to medical or health institutions for delivery. Those living in remote areas where there is no access to transportation, shall send for a licensed home-birth attendant and use modern technology for delivery.

Article 22 Medical or health institutions shall issue a Birth Certificate to each baby that is born there. Birth Certificates for those born at home shall be issued in accordance with relevant regulations formulated by the national public health authorities.

The public security department shall examine Birth Certificates when handling household registrations of newborns.

Article 23 Medical or health institutions and home-birth attendants shall, according to regulations of the national public health authorities, report the deaths of pregnant women or babies or birth defects to local public health authorities in an honest and timely fashion.

Article 24 Health care for women employees during pregnancy and breastfeeding shall be provided for in compliance with relevant national and provincial regulations.