China says all tertiary-level hospitals must offer epidural anaesthesia during childbirth by the end of 2025 in a move it says will help promote a "friendly child-bearing environment" for women.

Tertiary hospitals, which have more than 500 beds, must provide epidural anaesthesia services by 2025 while secondary hospitals containing more than 100 beds must provide the services by 2027, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement.

Authorities are struggling to boost birth rates in the world's second-largest economy after China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024 with experts warning the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

About 30 per cent of pregnant women in China receive anaesthesia to relieve pain during childbirth, compared with more than 70 per cent in some developed countries, the official China Daily said.

The World Health Organization recommends epidurals for healthy pregnant women requesting pain relief and it is widely utilised in many countries around the world, including France, where about 82 per cent of pregnant women opt to have one, and in the United States and Canada where more than 67 per cent do.

The move will "improve the comfort level and security of medical services" and "further enhance people's sense of happiness and promote a friendly child-bearing environment", the commission said.

A growing number of provinces across China are also beginning to include childbirth anaesthesia costs as part of their medical insurance schemes to encourage more women to have children.

High childcare costs as well as job uncertainty and a slowing economy have discouraged many young Chinese from getting married and starting a family.

In June, health authorities in China's southwest Sichuan province proposed to extend marriage leave up to 25 days and maternity leave up to 150 days, to help create a "fertility-friendly society".