How did improved sanitation and medical care after 1949 affect China’s population growth?

After 1949, China experienced significant improvements in public health and medical care, which included the control of epidemics, better management of drinking water and sewage, and a greater focus on preventive medicine.12

These advancements led to a rapid decline in the death rate. Because this reduction in mortality was not initially accompanied by a corresponding decline in the birth rate, the overall rate of population growth increased significantly. This surge in population, which saw China reach 1 billion people by the early 1980s, prompted the Chinese government to implement various family-planning initiatives, eventually culminating in the one-child policy to curb the rapid expansion.134