Russia: Women who don’t want to have children should see a psychologist

This emerges from new Health Ministry guidelines adopted at the end of February and reported by state media this week. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of young Russians have been sent to the front in Ukraine.

The birth rate in Russia is around 1.4 children per woman, which is the lowest it has been in 200 years. According to demographers, a value of 2.1 is necessary to keep the population stable.

The regime sees the problem with women

Under the new guidelines, doctors should ask women during exams how many children they would like to have. If a woman says she doesn’t want to have a child, it is “recommended” that she be sent to a psychologist for a consultation “with the aim of developing a positive attitude towards having children.”

President Vladimir Putin’s government has already taken various measures to address demographic problems. Among other things, abortion regulations were tightened and parliament passed a law banning “propaganda” for childlessness. Families with large children receive generous state aid.