Only the lazy are not outraged by the low birth rate today. Do you think the maternal instinct evaporated with the advent of capitalism? Nothing of the sort: a woman of any country and nationality always remains a woman. But why then does inexorable statistics insist that “European women give birth to their first child on average at 28-29 years old. Residents of Austria and Portugal have children earliest (at 26-27 years old), and natives of Sweden latest (at 30-35 years old). The most prolific mothers are Irish and French women, while Italian and Spanish women give birth to no more than two children...”? Apparently, it all again comes down to finances and socio-legal guarantees. And here again knowledge comes to the aid of women of all countries, times and peoples: knowledge of laws, rights and... prices.
USA: Here They Will Preserve the Love Channel
For most of us, America is associated with paradise. But not everyone lives well in this paradise. The desire to have a family, let alone children, in the New World must be backed not only by a solid material base, but also by nerves of steel and excellent health. Here no one will accommodate a pregnant woman by easing her work schedule, let alone a young mother torn between family and work. So in this country there is practically no normal (by our standards) policy for protecting mothers' rights. A couple of months after giving birth, a woman must already be at her workplace and perform her official duties. If she hesitates, carried away by her newly acquired sense of motherhood, another employee will immediately be taken in her place, and the mother will simply be left without a job.
As for state benefits and prenatal leave, American women can only dream of them for now. After childbirth, maternity leave lasts only three months, and it is unpaid. The only consolation is that childbirth is covered by health insurance. But not for everyone, and not always. For women without insurance who come to give birth in the USA, a regular birth will cost almost $10,000, and a cesarean section $13,000. Naturally, there are not many of them; most women giving birth are citizens of the country. For them, childbirth costs much less than for foreigners. And the cheapest option is to give birth at home – here you actually only have to pay for the midwife's work, which will cost a few hundred dollars.
However, insurance companies, not wanting to take risks, avoid including childbirth in the list of paid medical services, so as a rule, the entire amount has to be paid by the woman giving birth and her family. The most expensive are standard hospital births under the supervision of an obstetrician-gynecologist and with the use of anesthesia: each day of stay here costs about $1,500, and you also have to separately pay for the doctors' work (the bill also runs into thousands) and possibly additional procedures and tests. However, some families have insurance that covers from 80% to 100% of the costs. For the very poor – those with low wages, the unemployed, immigrants – America has free insurance called "Medicaid".
In the USA, cesarean section is allowed at the patient's request. The risk of the operation is minimal, and it is easier for doctors too. Of course, not everyone uses this: elective cesareans are performed mainly for those who are simply very afraid of pain, and for those who want nothing to stretch inside. But often the reason for such births is banal – the same money. Natural birth is on average one and a half times cheaper than a cesarean. Therefore, it is not surprising that the frequency of such operations in private clinics, where the doctor's fee is 20% to 40% of the total amount, soars to 42.5% and drops to 18% in staffed hospitals, where doctors are on a fixed salary. By the way, it was Americans who came up with the utterly commercial slogan "Preserve your love channel – take a Caesarian!", which means "Preserve your love channel – get a cesarean!"
Israel: Only Circumcision Is Free
In Israel, childbirth is also paid for from health insurance, which is monthly deducted from Israelis' salaries at a rate of 3% and transferred to the hospital fund. This, of course, doesn't make it any easier – you still have to pay, but you don't have to shell out all the money at once. The attitude toward childbirth and children here is special, truly Jewish. That is probably why women from different countries around the world come to Israel to give birth and receive treatment.
As for state benefits, a working mother receives maternity leave paid at her average salary, and a non-working mother at the minimum wage. There isn't much time to prepare for the arrival of a new family member in Israel – only two months (one before childbirth and one after). And if the newborn, God forbid, gets sick – of course, they will give it a free minimum set of medications, which is given to all children up to a certain age, but the mother will not be paid sick leave for caring for the child. Moreover, they may not even let her off work at all. So in Israel, a sick child is looked after by a grandmother or a nanny (the latter's services are not cheap – from $10 to $50 per hour).
Here, too, kindergarten and school have to be partially paid for. In Israel, preschool education is compulsory: from age four to seven, children attend kindergartens, and then they enter schools, where education lasts 12 years. It is gratifying that at least you don't have to spend money on the Brit milah (circumcision) ceremony – it is paid for by the state.
However, it is not only the material side of the issue that is strictly regulated in Israel. God forbid you offend a child in any way! Here, children almost from the cradle absorb the laws on child protection along with their mother's milk. And these laws state: you cannot beat children, otherwise they may complain to the police. And bad parents can not only be arrested or fined, but may even be deprived of parental rights. The law "On the Right to Grow Up in a Family" further spurs Israelis to be good parents, because otherwise the child may be given to another family.
But the desire to have more children does not stop Jews. Israelis of average income with a salary of 15 thousand shekels can afford a lot. That is probably why the population of this country has so many children: in an ordinary religious family, an average of 7-12. But besides their own, Jews often raise adopted ones as well. Perhaps the reason is the tidy sum that parents receive from the state.
Europe: dad will be sent on paternity leave
In Denmark, small citizens are surrounded by state care regardless of whether their parents are officially married or not. Even though 45% of babies are born out of wedlock, cases of refusal to recognize paternity are rare here. A young Danish woman has the right to a seven-month maternity leave, and she is obliged to take one month of it before the baby is born. In addition, no head of an enterprise will risk firing or demoting a woman returning from maternity leave. Otherwise, he will have to pay her wages for 19.5 months.
Moreover, Denmark has the most advanced system of nurseries, kindergartens, and other preschool institutions in Europe. Moreover, the system of enterprise-affiliated kindergartens, as we once had, is very common. Half of the cost of keeping a child in a preschool institution is paid by the organization where one of the parents works. Perhaps this is why Denmark's birth rate has grown so much over the past 10-15 years - 1.8 children per woman. As for the father, he not only attends the birth, but also has the right to take two weeks of paid leave immediately after the child is born.
Neighboring Swedes have gone further by legalizing mandatory paternity leave for childcare up to the age of three, at least 30 working days. The father's salary during this time is 80% of the usual amount. Childbirth for people with residence permits in Sweden is also free. These and other benefits contribute to the country ranking second in Europe in terms of the number of babies: two children per woman.
In France, childbirth is also encouraged in every possible way. A working mother has the right to reduced working hours and an additional "maternity" salary of about 100 euros for one child, 135 euros for two children, and almost 200 euros for three. And stay-at-home mothers with more than two children receive a real salary of 525 euros from the state. So, to the question "What do kids cost?" the state here answers with full responsibility. That is probably why there are no shelters or orphanages in France. Children from disadvantaged families are adopted by well-off families, whom the state naturally helps. The real parents, in this case, do not even have the right to visit the child, so as not to traumatize him or her.
China: giving birth according to plan
But not everything is a bed of roses. In China, large families are not to be envied - the policy of planned childbirth rules the roost. There is no need to talk about state aid for young families - those who dare to have more than one child in the family are almost fined. Moreover, the Chinese government demands that managers at all levels take responsibility for the childbirth situation. Now imagine the director of an enterprise who must bear personal responsibility for someone else's pleasure...
Although it cannot be said that children are not loved in the East. The Chinese even have a special character related to pregnancy and an unborn being, roughly translated as "embryo upbringing." Moreover, the ancient Chinese teaching of feng shui recommends that expectant mothers focus on themselves, on their yin, not overwork themselves and not think about material difficulties, which apparently even the ancient Taoists could not avoid.
Cyprus and Italy: demographic crisis
The issue of children was also raised in Cyprus. To raise the birth rate, the government decided to encourage Cypriots with three or more children. Since January 1, 2001, upon the birth of a third child, parents with many children receive a one-time allowance of 5,000 Cypriot pounds ($7.5 thousand). And families with four or more children receive about 300 pounds (or almost $500) monthly. Well, isn't it heavenly bliss to start a family in such a place?!
The Italian mother today has the fewest children in Europe - on average one or two babies, despite the fact that Italian women have the lowest professional workload. Only 5% of jobs have flexible schedules, and it is a woman who becomes unemployed first, especially if she often asks to leave work early or stays late for household chores.
Most Italians believe that today a family can provide a decent standard of living for one child, at most two. In conversations of Italian parents, one can often hear the phrase "a child costs this much today." Expenses include not so much clothing and food, but education, nanny's salary, summer and winter vacations, sports and art classes. Music lessons, for example, are so expensive that in small towns families simply buy an instrument collectively. Trips to the theater, museum, and exhibitions are also not cheap. So the price of kids in Italy is quite high.
England: what's the price of baby porridge?
Most English families with average income have three children. Overall, in this country there are 1.7 babies per woman. This is one of the highest rates in Europe. And it is maintained not at all because the state pursues a social policy favorable to mothers. In England there is practically no system of state preschool education. An ordinary school starts accepting children from the age of two. Before that, working mothers, as a rule, have to look for a nanny, whose services are very expensive, because she must have a state diploma as a governess or educator. Consequently, the family must have a decent income. Those who do not have it have only one way out - to leave their professional activity and devote themselves to raising a child, combining this with some paid work from home. So the question of raising children in England is closely connected with another problem: is a mother ready to sacrifice her career for the sake of a child?
But despite the difficult international situation, terrorism, global melting of ice in Antarctica and the unstable dollar exchange rate, many women in different countries still decide to give birth to a child. After all, the memory of the true biblical purpose of woman is still alive, that children are the flowers of life and the foundation of their upbringing should be love.