Confidence voiced

According to Ding Guifeng, head of Urumqi Youai Hospital, women in Xinjiang are very confident and optimistic.

Wearing a white, knee-length doctor's coat, Ding looks poised and far younger than her 54 years. Working as an obstetrician for more than 30 years, she has made it to the top.

"Through my passion, perseverance and hard work I rose to become hospital head. I love this profession. Providing a good service to women and children has always been one of my goals, and I also feel that they need everyone's attention," she said.

During her career, Ding has witnessed far-reaching changes in women's and children's healthcare in Xinjiang.

"All childbirths in the hospital are now supervised by medical staff. This has greatly reduced deaths among pregnant women and infants. I'm very happy to say that Xinjiang has made great efforts in significantly reducing the number of deaths of children younger than 5," she said.

A report by Li Xiaoxia, special researcher for the Xinjiang Development Research Center, said the region's maternal mortality rate dropped from 43.41 per 100,000 in 2010 to 26.65 per 100,000 in 2018, while the infant mortality rate fell from 26.58 per 1,000 to 14.02 per 1,000 during the same period.

According to data in 2015, life expectancy for the region's residents reached 74.82 years on average.

Meanwhile, Xinjiang has introduced a health program for all women, with free screening for breast and cervical cancer at facilities such as Urumqi Youai Hospital.