Gleb Nikitin: "Public and private healthcare will continue to join efforts to increase birth rates in the region."

      On April 2, an expert discussion on the topic "Reserves for Increasing Birth Rates" took place at the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. The event brought together chief physicians from state and private medical institutions, heads of women's clinics, practicing doctors, obstetricians-gynecologists, and medical psychologists who work daily with pregnant women, including patients facing reproductive choice situations.

      The meeting also included leaders of executive bodies, specialists in demographics and family policy, representatives of socially oriented non-profit organizations, and clergy.

      Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleb Nikitin, in his speech, reminded that from July 2025 to February 2026, the total fertility rate in the Nizhny Novgorod region increased from 1.267 to 1.303. This is the result of comprehensive work, including within the framework of national projects "Family," "Long and Active Life," and the people's program of the "United Russia" party. The region is actively conducting reproductive health screenings, improving diagnostic and treatment capabilities, creating a "Family Quarter," and significantly increasing the number of quotas for IVF funded by compulsory health insurance. Notable successes have also been achieved in pre-abortion counseling.

      "Last year, the total number of abortions at the request of women in state medical organizations was just over one and a half thousand cases. This is a third less than in 2024 and almost five times less than ten years ago," Gleb Nikitin reported.

      According to the governor, private medical clinics supported the regional health ministry on this issue. If at the beginning of 2025, 55 private clinics had licenses for abortions, now there are only 9. Patients are provided with a full range of support: psychological, spiritual, social, and legal.

      "State and private healthcare will continue to combine efforts to increase birth rates in the region. We expect that over time, private medicine will proactively move towards a complete refusal to perform abortions. We are currently increasing the number of psychologists working with women in reproductive choice situations. There are 32 such specialists in state medical institutions, and six psychologists work in private organizations under an agreement with the Institute of Demographic Development. We note that the effectiveness of counseling in state organizations is much higher than in private ones—22 percent compared to 9.5 percent," Gleb Nikitin explained.

      The governor also spoke about the program for achieving demographic sustainability "FOUNDATION – Nizhny Novgorod Life Project," within which the portal "Save.RF" has been launched, and about the "Family Quarter" project, which is being implemented in Nizhny Novgorod as part of two national projects—"Long and Active Life" and "Family."

      "The 'Family Quarter' project is aimed at improving the reproductive health of Nizhny Novgorod residents and increasing birth rates. It is known that more than 60 percent of diseases in children lead to some disruption of reproductive functions by the time they become girls and boys. Moreover, the health of children directly depends on the health of mothers and fathers. The 'Family Quarter' is a concentration of several subdivisions of the so-called medical town on a single territory: here, care will be provided for the preservation and improvement of the reproductive health of adolescents, couples, as well as women and men," explained Natalia Zelyaeva, chief physician of City Hospital No. 28 in Nizhny Novgorod.

      A report on medical-psychological reserves for increasing birth rates was presented by healthcare specialist Alla Rakova and Maria Dugina, general director of the ANO "Center for Family and Children Assistance 'Yaroslav.'" The speakers touched on the issue of emotional burnout among doctors and proposed solutions to this problem. They also emphasized the importance of establishing a high authority for medical psychologists in the patient community.

      The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region emphasized that there is a mechanism for material incentives for obstetricians-gynecologists who effectively help women make the decision to give birth. Support for such doctors will definitely be strengthened.

      Another "growth point" is preventive work with future fathers. It is important to foster a culture of responsible fatherhood in society and to raise the significance of the social status of fathers.

      Sergey Sudyin, head of the Department of General Sociology and Social Work at Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky, spoke about the social aspects of increasing birth rates. These include even more active cooperation between government bodies and NGOs and other civil society institutions working on family issues, as well as the introduction of new social support tools for families with children.

      Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Georgy presented family support projects implemented by the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. Since 2015, the "Orthodox Family" center has been operating in the diocese. Its main goal is to strengthen family values and prepare consciously for marriage. Over the past years, thanks to spiritual and psychological support, 135 families have been formed, in which 152 children were born.

      "To solve the problem of childbirth, it is necessary to support the traditional family. For this, it is necessary to understand the reasons why and who is contributing to its destruction today, why there is such a colossal number of divorces. We need to understand what to do to change the situation. It is necessary to create favorable conditions for young families so that young people who have recently married feel supported. A young family should not be left alone with its problems. Multi-child priests in the Nizhny Novgorod diocese receive monthly financial support for each child. This practical experience of supporting large families can be preserved and developed," said Metropolitan Georgy.

      Let us remind you that the national project "Long and Active Life" involves the renovation of clinics, outpatient clinics, feldsher-midwife points, attracting more qualified medical personnel to medical institutions, applying new approaches in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic diseases, improving emergency medical care and rehabilitation systems, developing a network of national research centers, and digitizing the industry to qualitatively increase the life expectancy of the population of Russia.

      The national project "Family" is a successor to the previously active national projects "Demography" and "Culture." It includes activities that contribute to the comprehensive development of families: expanding support measures, creating conditions for the active longevity of the older generation, and ensuring quality and accessible medical care in terms of supporting motherhood and childhood.

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