Births hit new low at state hospitals

With every year that passes fewer babies are being born in Portugal's public hospitals. Last year, in comparison to 2010, eleven thousand fewer births were registered in state-run hospitals.

Over the past three years Portugal's birth rate has gradually dropped. In 2010 83,000 births were registered in public hospitals, whereas in 2012, 72,089 babies were delivered in SNS-run establishments.

The Alentejo is the country's region with the lowest number of births.However, the number of babies being born in the Alentejo grew slightly from 2011 to 2012, from 2,980 to 3,037. It was in Castelo Branco's Local Health Unit that the lowest number of births was registered last year, with just 419 babies being born at the facility in 12 months.

Lisbon and Vale do Tejo's main Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central (CHLC) registered the greatest number of births in 2012, even though the number has fallen in recent years. In 2012 4,636 babies were born in the CHLC Hospital (which belongs to the Alfredo da Costa Maternity unit), still 2,690 fewer births than in 2010.

Specialists are putting the dwindling birth rate down to the crisis and the fact families are thinking twice before having children.

In the Family Planning Association's (APF) view, the drop in births can be blamed on "a lack of support." "The birth rate suffered a very sharp, abrupt drop. Living in uncertainty, families have no inclination to have children, as there are no incentives whatsoever. There is no support from the State. There is a lack of serious incentives for families", Duarte Vilar, sociologist and executive director of the APF, said in comments to national newspaper Correio da Manhã.

Also in favour of more support measures to boost births is the Portuguese Association for Large Families (APFN), which criticises the Government for penalising families. "There are 60,000 fewer births than what are needed. It is a serious situation. There are no incentives, in fact there is the contrary; there is penalisation. A birth means a drop in the level of quality of family life. At least an end should be put to punishing policies", stressed Fernando Ribeiro e Castro, President of the APFN.