Russia’s Health Ministry is advising doctors to refer women who say they do not plan to have children for consultations with a therapist aimed at encouraging them to reconsider, the state-run news agency TASS reported Wednesday, citing updated clinical guidelines.
Under the guidance, women who indicate in a medical history questionnaire that they do not want children should be referred to a therapist “for the purpose of fostering positive attitudes toward childbirth,” the document says.
The questionnaire is administered to both men and women, but the version for men does not include questions about plans to have children.
TASS reported that the Health Ministry had approved the guidelines but did not specify when, or whether, they would be formally published on its website.
Russia is currently facing a falling birth rate, natural population decline and rising male mortality. In 2024, 1.22 million people were born in the country, only slightly more than the record low of 1.21 million in 1999.
Authorities have implemented various measures to address the demographic crisis, including boosting state financial support for child-rearing, introducing restrictions on abortion and promoting so-called “traditional values” among young people.
Despite these policies, the trend of decline has shown no sign of reversing.
State statistics agency Rosstat projects that Russia’s population will fall below 138.8 million by 2046.
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