VERSIONS: روسيا اليوم NOTICIAS FREEVIDEO ИНОТВ RTД
breakingnews
Go to main page   News   Chechen baby boom despite financial woes  
MORE ON THE STORY
01.09.2008, 05:08

Newborn babies for a newborn country

As war-torn Abkhazia rises from the ashes, its first Independence Day last Tuesday was met with the cries of seven newborn babies. RT visited one of the first to arrive in the capital Sukhum.

12.07.2008, 05:29

The best of Russia Close-Up: Tatarstan tries to boost birth rate

Tatarstan's government is partly subsidising fertility treatement in a bid to boost flagging birth rates in the central Russian republic. Traditionally, Tartar families have been extremely large with five or six children. But now the average is two or thr

10.04.2007, 22:14

Siberian way to tackle Russia’s population decline

73 year-old resident of Siberian city of Novokuznetsk has recently become a grandfather for the hundredth time. Aleksey Shapoval, who has fathered 12 children of his own, has one of the greatest families in the region.

Worries continue over Russia's birthrate 13.10.2007, 06:49

Baby's death reopens demographic debate

The tragic case of a premature baby mistakenly pronounced dead by doctors in the Urals Region has shocked the nation. It has also reopened the debate about Russia's falling birthrate. Questions are now being asked about whether practices in maternity war

10.07.2007, 06:32

Population decline in Russia - maternity rights at fault?

Latest Russian statistics show the population has fallen by about 150,000 since the beginning of the year, and despite efforts by the Government, the birth rate is not rising to the extent they would like.

09.02.2008, 10:38

Baby boom boosts birthrate in Russia

Russia’s Minister for Health and Social Development, Tatyana Golikova, says the country is experiencing a baby boom after a decade-long drop in its national birthrate. Around 1.5 million babies were born in 2007 – 120,000 more than in 2006.

20.04.2007, 08:30

Demography to greatly impact Russia's economic growth

Advisers to Russia's trade ministry say the declining population will hold back its economic performance. However the Centre for Strategic Research says solving the country's demographic problems will allow GDP per head to reach $US 20,000.

24.02.2007, 07:50

Birth record: one mother - three sets of twins

A woman in the Northern Caucasus has given birth to her third set of twins.  Although Marina Khubulova had little chance to bear healthy children, the two newly-born girls got stronger quickly and were soon discharged from the hospital.

22.01.2009, 18:28

Pregnant fencers put careers on ice

Russia has lost five members of its national women’s fencing team. But that’s not bad news at all. The ladies have decided to use the break between Olympics to become mothers.

08.04.2009, 09:36

It's not my son! Mothers angry over maternity house mistake

Imagine you raised a baby, only to realize it was not yours. It sounds like something out of a soap opera, but for two mothers in Chechnya and Central Russia, the discovery has become a real-life nightmare.

Chechen baby boom despite financial woes

Published: 15 December, 2009, 11:28
Edited: 15 December, 2009, 17:45

(12.4Mb) embed video

TAGS: Children, Health, Chechnya, Russia, Crisis


Russia's republic of Chechnya is seeing a rise in the birth-rate with more than seven thousand babies born this year. Maternity clinics are constantly full and doctors are struggling to cope.

Many women about to give birth have to wait in the corridors. 35-year-old Patimat Masalayeva from a remote mountainous village has just given birth to her eighth child. After seven sons, it is a baby girl at last.

Not all of the women here plan their pregnancies. 37-year-old Aidima Suleimanova says four of her seven children were born in the neighboring republic of Dagestan, where the family fled while the fighting was going on in Chechnya.

“None of my pregnancies were planned. But my husband wanted us to keep them all and he is able to support us financially – so we are happy,” she said.

Doctors in the clinic are working non-stop. More than seven thousand babies have been born here this year, compared with five thousand last year. And the birth rate is increasing.

“The living conditions have improved, and women receive a maternity allowance,” said a head doctor of the maternity clinic, Madina Eldarova. “That's why we now have so many pregnant women. We do not even have enough places for them.”

Another kindergarten has recently been opened in the capital’s suburbs. For many parents it is not just a place to entrust their kids but an opportunity to get a job. Unemployment is still very high in Chechnya.

Malika Avtorkhanova was lucky to secure her three-year-old son Akhmed a place in the kindergarten, but could not get job there. The family, with six children, has to survive on unemployment benefit – less than a hundred dollars a month.

“The crisis has hit not only the country but our family too. I don't know how we will make it through this. Maybe God will help,” she said.

Malika says the bad memories of the wars have helped her survive. At least there is a relative peace in the republic now, she says.

Chechen families are traditionally large. It is not unusual to have eight or more children. So the age of women giving birth ranges from sixteen to forty-five. There has also been a large number of twins born, most often twin boys.

RT was filming in one of the maternity hospital for three hours. In that period of time, four boys and three girls were born. Doctors say, it is just the beginning – normally up to twenty babies arrive here daily.

+7 (8 votes)
 
Back to top
next MORE NEWS
14.12.2009, 20:30

2,500 toy phones face destruction over ringtone copyright

A Russian court has ordered the destruction of 2,500 toy phones imported from China as the music they played sounded suspiciously like a pop song protected by Russian copyright law.

In this TV Grab Picture taken from the RAI24 News channel, shows Italian President Silvio Berlusconi looking on after being assaulted in Milan on December 13, 2009 (AFP Photo / TV Grab / RAI 24) 15.12.2009, 11:43 13 comments

Berlusconi is bleeding: Italian PM remains in hospital

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will remain in hospital at least until Wednesday, as doctors say his condition is worse than they thought, after being attacked at a political rally in Milan.