Russia will refer women who do not want children to psychologists under new health guidelines aimed at tackling a severe demographic crisis

MOSCOW: Russian doctors will refer women who do not want children to psychologists under new health guidelines. The measures are designed to address a severe and systemic demographic crisis.

Russia’s dwindling birth rate has been a primary concern for President Vladimir Putin during his 25-year rule. The problem has worsened since Moscow sent hundreds of thousands of young men to fight in Ukraine.

Under new health ministry guidelines for reproductive health checks, doctors will ask women how many children they want. If a woman answers zero, “it is recommended to send the patient to a consultation with a medical psychologist with the goal of forming a positive attitude towards having children.”

The recommendations were approved in late February but only reported by state media this week. The Kremlin chief frames Russia’s shrinking population as a matter of national survival.

Putin warned in 2024 that Russia faced “extinction” if it did not boost birth rates. The country’s birth rate is at a 200-year low of around 1.4 children per woman.

This figure is far below the 2.1 that demographers say is necessary for a stable population. In recent years, Moscow has tightened abortion rules and passed bills outlawing so-called “child-free propaganda.”

Large families are heralded as national heroes and offered extensive financial and social benefits from the state.

 The Sun Malaysia