China: policy and practice of MCH since the early 1990s.

Since the socioeconomic reforms in China in the late 1970s the improvement of maternal and child health (MCH), which was once considered one of the great achievements of China after 1949, has slowed and some indicators show that the situation in some regions, especially in rural areas, is getting worse instead of better. This article will focus on policy and policy-related issues in the delivery of MCH services. It will cover historical changes in policy and their effects, especially in the financing of MCH. In addition, it will also touch upon new practices of MCH in the new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) in present-day rural China.