Overview
- Updated reproductive health-check guidelines instruct doctors to ask women how many children they want and to recommend a consultation with a medical psychologist if the answer is zero, with the stated goal of fostering a positive attitude toward childbirth.
- TASS reported that the Health Ministry approved the guidance in late February, though the ministry has not specified when it will publish the document or how it will be implemented.
- The questionnaire is administered to both sexes, but the men’s version does not ask about plans to have children.
- Officials frame the measure as a response to demographic pressures, with 1.22 million births recorded in 2024, a fertility rate around 1.4 per woman, and Rosstat projecting the population to fall below 138.8 million by 2046.
- The recommendation aligns with broader policies that have tightened abortion rules, outlawed promotion of 'child-free' lifestyles, expanded financial support for families, and emphasized traditional values.