A girl poses for a photograph at a commercial area of downtown Shanghai, November 28, 2012.[Photo/Agencies]

About 239,600 babies were born in Shanghai in 2012, the most since 2002, according to the city’s Health Bureau.

In 2012, Shanghai’s maternal mortality rate was 7.1 per 100,000 and infant mortality rate 5.04 per 1,000, an all-time low in the city and on a par with the levels in developed economies, the bureau said on Tuesday.

To deal with the baby boom, Shanghai has made efforts to improve the quality of maternity care and ensure the safety and health of pregnant women and newborns.

According to the bureau, pregnant women can receive free prenatal checks, which have been included in the city’s healthcare insurance.

It also strengthened monitoring of pregnancies and established the pregnancy risk evaluation system so those at risk could be identified sooner and receive early medical intervention.

So far, the city has established an emergency network for high-risk pregnant women and babies. In 2012, the city’s five pregnancy urgent care centers treated 345 patients with a 98.84 percent success rate. And 4,690 babies were treated in six infant treatment centers with a success rate of 91.45 percent.

Earlier, Beijing Municipal Health Bureau also reported that about 220,000 babies were born last year, the highest number since 2007.