After a four-year investigation, doctors at the No. Two Hospital of the Chinese Medical Sciences University (CMSU) confirmed that they had discovered the main cause of death among women in childbirth.

Prof. Wang Dezhi, expert in obstetrics and gynecology at CMSU, said that according to a series of random sample tests, about 46.7 percent of the women died of post parturition flooding, that is, the violent outpouring of blood after giving birth.

The investigation, sponsored by the Ministry of Health and the World Children's Fund, covered 58 villages in six undeveloped counties of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Experts said that high blood pressure and heart disease were also contributing factors in death among these women.

The Chinese government has been making great efforts to improve medical treatment for rural residents, though it is still not adequate, especially in some undeveloped villages.

According to official statistics, in early 1980s, mortality among women in childbirth was 61 out of 100,000 cases in the villages of Liaoning Province, but by the end of 1998, it is was less than 40 out of 100,000 cases.

Sources said that experts have created simple but scientific and quite workable methods to prevent the flooding. The Ministry of Health and the Chinese Medical Association are making preparations to spread this method as part of measures to improve medical care in China's rural areas, especially for women and children. (Xinhua)