Ukraine’s Falling Birth Rates amid Ongoing War with Russia Worries Doctors


Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Last Updated: March 10, 2023, 09:00 IST

Dr Malanchuk Oleg Borisovych remains hopeful that the decline in birth rates will reverse and it will not lead to a major drop in population (Image: Sanjay Suri/CNN-News18)

Birth rates have fallen since the onset of the war as eight million people, mostly women, have left Ukraine. This has sparked fears that the population could drop to very low levels

One Year of Ukraine War

The war continues to threaten the very existence of Ukraine – not only via bombing but also through falling birth rates. Ukraine reported that its birth rates have fallen and population growth has stumbled, registering a decline.

The fall in population began following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year. This led to an exodus of Ukrainian women as Ukrainian men were conscripted to fight and defend their country.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 43 million and following the war eight million left the country, of whom mostly were young women. The elderly continue to live in the country and even in cities like Bakhmut and Kherson, where almost nothing remains.

Births

Speaking to CNN-News18, Dr Malanchuk Oleg Borisovych, director of a maternity hospital in Kyiv says there were 17 births in the delivery room on the day of the invasion.

“On the morning of February 24 last year we had 17 births in our delivery room, we had 200 patients in the hospital. The next month the birth rate fell by 60 percent, and stayed that way for many months,” he said.

Dr Borisovych points out that the birth rates were lower in eastern and central parts of Ukraine where active hostilities have been taking place. “The birth rate decreased significantly in the occupied territories. So many women left. And the fact that so many of our men are currently fighting to defend Ukraine affects the birth rate,” Dr Borisovych explained.

Many women also migrated from eastern Ukraine to western parts of Ukraine but many migrated abroad which meant that the average birth rate remained low.

A loss of eight million meant a significant chunk of potentially fertile population left Ukraine and for the ones who chose to remain the situation was not fertile for sustaining and renewing normal family life.

Reversal

Dr Borisovych signals there is a silver lining. “Over the last three months the number of births has begun to rise. Through the war many women have gone to see their husbands on the front, soldiers have visited home on leave, and more women are becoming pregnant,” he said.

“Some women are returning from abroad, others from the western regions to which they went. But the situation still does affect the birth rate. Overall the birth rate remains lower than before the war,” Dr Borisovych further adds.

The dangers are obvious – a continual decline would theoretically and practically mean the end of the Ukrainian peoples and Ukraine. And people can see the danger.

Borisovych also says that increasing birth rates may now have a political reason but he outlines that in Ukraine family always comes first.

“The family in Ukraine has always come first, whether it is war, disasters or Covid. The family is being kept strong. We are continuing our lineage. And victory will be ours,” Dr Borisovych says.

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