LATVIJA– The majority of Latvian residents are convinced that the birth rate in Latvia would increase if the population of reproductive age felt more secure about Latvia’s future. In the survey of “Mēnes aptiekas” and the research agency “Norstat”, 67% of the respondents confirmed this belief, almost as popular was the answer that the birth rate in the country would increase if the population earned more. On the other hand, a fifth of the respondents believe that more children would be born in Latvia if society spent less time on computers and the Internet, but more time in society – at the workplace, events, self-help groups, interest groups, traveling.
“Due to several reasons, thoughts about a safe future have been brought up in society, but I believe that there is currently no rational basis for insecurity that could directly affect the decision to have a child. The most frequent answer to the survey raises the question – are so many people really emotionally affected, or is this an argument for some other unspoken reasons that people do not want to mention and do not want to delve into this problem. The financial reasons mentioned are much more understandable to me. And also with the question – what kind of bar has each family set for the quality of material life. The situations are extremely different, and there are families in which people have calculated everything in the budget in detail, there are no additional funds and there is no visible possibility to get them either. However, sometimes it means giving up some luxury things, which many are not ready for, and this should also be respected in society. Maintaining a small child requires an amount of funds that, with careful planning, is not so large, but as the child grows, when you have to think about kindergarten and interest education, the family really needs more funds. I can say this based on my experience as a mother of four children. In my practice as a gynecologist, I observed another important aspect – many women of reproductive age do not manage to meet their partners, with whom they would be ready to have children. This may have been reinforced by the time of the pandemic, but even before that, such a trend was observed. On the other hand, in many successful families, the birth of children is postponed to a later time, thus, due to health conditions, there are fewer opportunities to have another child. There might be three children in the family, but since the first was born well after thirty, the second – already after forty, it may no longer be possible to have a third child,” admits Karlīna Elksne, gynecologist, head of the Gynecology Service at the Association of Health Centers, when analyzing the indicators of the population survey.
“Since the mid-nineties in Latvia, the average age of the mother of a newborn has been increasing, and gradually that of the father as well. The highest birth rates are for mothers aged 25-35, and in order for the pregnancy of this age and older women to go as expected, for the newborn to be healthy, we see how important it is for most expectant and new parents to take care of both their own and their baby’s health. If everyone’s understanding of safety is relative, then according to the observations of our pharmacists, the financial situation of many expectant and young parents could play a role in making a decision about having a baby – one or more. As the quality of society’s life and education level increases, the understanding of how to ensure good health for yourself and your child also increases. For example, it can be seen that a course of taking relevant vitamins is important for many even before pregnancy, mothers-to-be regularly monitor the level of iron in the body when conducting tests, and if necessary, iron preparations are used, all kinds of care products are purchased for babies – anti-inflammatory creams, pacifiers, thermometers for babies, etc. It should be remembered that nowadays almost every baby uses diapers, but a little more than 30 years ago there were none in Latvia,” says Ārika Pētersone, a pharmacist at “Mēness aptiekas”, about the necessary care for a baby. True, pharmacists are also faced with situations when inexperienced new parents want to buy as many things as possible for the baby, but in reality less is needed for care – after talking with the pharmacist, an optimal list of purchases necessary for the newborn is created. Often, the baby’s relatives and friends of the parents prepare a gift in the form of a gift directly at the pharmacy, Erika Pētersone observed.
In the survey, 67% of the respondents answered that the birth rate in Latvia would increase if the population of reproductive age felt more secure about Latvia’s future. This answer was given by 70% of women and 64% of men. The least young people aged 18-29 think so – 54%, while in other age groups 68-72% of the population noted the impact of the safety aspect. In the regions, it was indicated less by the respondents in Vidzeme – 60% of the respondents, but the most in Riga – 69% and Kurzeme – 71%.
