It is every other quiet shift for Ewa Dadalska, head of a maternity ward within the Polish town of Wołomin.
The delivery charge in Poland has reduced via 40% during the last 30 years, with ladies now having a median of one.4 youngsters.
Ewa presentations our reporter Julian Lopez round abandoned supply rooms.
“Just 5 years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have these empty rooms,” she says. “At the moment, almost every day these empty beds just stand and wait for potential mothers.”
A complex mix of factors
The story behind this phenomenon is complex. Factors such as economic uncertainty, a lack of job security, and changing social attitudes mean that more women are choosing not to have children.
Others link the falling birth rate to Poland’s restrictive abortion laws. Since 2021, abortion is only permitted in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Agnieszka Szpila is a writer and activist with two severely disabled children.
“Women are extremely afraid of being stuck in my situation,” she says. “The only person a (disabled) child can rely on is the mother. Not the society, nor the country, nor the system.”
“Until my children are 18, they have school. But then, they don’t have school. They will be sitting with me until the end of their lives. I can’t live my life in the way I imagined.”
Government-funded programmes
The Polish executive is investment programmes to extend the delivery charge, such because the Family 500+ kid receive advantages scheme, however those haven’t been vastly efficient.
Adding to this downside is the rustic’s strict immigration coverage. Whereas international locations like Spain and Portugal even have low delivery charges, migrants are filling the demographic hole.
For some, the falling birthrate is a favorable signal, because it suggests that ladies have the liberty to reject expectancies surrounding motherhood. A low delivery charge steadily is going hand in hand with the next GDP and better ranges of training.
That stated, Poland is a abruptly getting old country, and plenty of worry the consequences additional down the road.
