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Background: Although years have passed since the implementation of China's universal two-child policy, the effectiveness of this policy remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we, here, assessed the impact of the two-child policy on total live births, preterm births, and multiple live births., Methods: Data identifying pregnancies resulting in at least one live birth between April 1 2013 and December 31 2018 were collected from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System database. Using an interrupted time-series analysis, we estimated immediate level changes and long-term trends in total, preterm (birth before 37 weeks' gestation), and multiple live births that had occurred after July 2016, when the universal two-child policy had taken effect., Results: A total of 8,273,622 live births were reported during the study time frame. The number of live births (p = 0.277), preterm births (p = 0.052), and multiple births (p = 0.856) per month slightly increased immediately after July 2016, but these increases did not meet statistical significance. Further, all three outcomes showed a significant downward trend that lasted until the end of 2018 (p < 0.0001 for all). Among all live births, the percentage of preterm births remained stable (p = 0.101), while the percentage of multiple live births that were preterm significantly increased (trend change = 0.21% per month, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.28, p < 0.0001). The percentage of live multiple births among all live births significantly decreased (p for trend = 0.0039)., Conclusions: Overall, our data reveal a transient baby boom, as well as an increase in the proportion of live multiple births that were preterm, after China's two-child policy took effect. The latter should be noted by healthcare professionals due to the high risk of complications and special medical care required by preterm babies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Supporting families during the first 1001 days from conception to the age of two is vital for setting the emotional, cognitive, and physical building blocks for children's futures. Families with twins, triplets, or higher order multiples (multiple birth families) have unique challenges due to caring for more than one baby at the same time. Therefore, identifying the needs of multiple birth families is necessary to provide optimum support during the first 1001 critical days., Design: A rapid review was undertaken to synthesize knowledge of the needs of multiple birth families in the United Kingdom (UK) during the first 1001 critical days. Findings from five databases (MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed studies and grey literature published between 2012 and 2022 were synthesized. Fifteen studies were reviewed using narrative synthesis., Results: Multiple birth families have unique and complex emotional and practical needs across the first 1001 critical days, and in particular, the first-year post birth, impacted further by complicated pregnancies and prematurity. Needs were identified within the four key themes: high risk pregnancy and birth; transformed reality of raising multiples; inadequate support; and positively affecting experiences. Health professional support was inconsistent and particularly lacking in intrapartum, postnatal, and community care including transition., Conclusion: Multiple birth families' needs should be considered in the design and delivery of care within the first 1001 critical days, especially within the first year after birth. Multiples specific advice across the first 1001 critical days is needed and training for health professionals to adapt universal advice for this population is one way to achieve this. Further research is needed to ensure this advice is evidence based and effective., (© 2023 The Authors. Public Health Nursing published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)