Family is a whole world

Belarus has created unique conditions for protecting the health of mothers and children

Taking care of the family is one of the key tasks of the state — the President of Belarus has said this more than once. Significant social support measures have made it possible to achieve the highest rates. Belarus tops the ranking of CIS countries favourable for motherhood and childbirth, and is also among the top 10 countries in the world with the lowest infant mortality. This could not have been achieved without high-quality medical care and huge investments in the purchase of equipment, medicines, training of personnel, construction and renovation of clinics. In addition, a multi-level system of maternal and baby health protection has been operating in our country for more than 20 years.

Mum Yelizaveta, daughter Valeria and dad Vladimir Dyro at Gorky Central Children's Park in Minsk       Kirill Stasko

Screening, IVF, and other ways to help

The four-tier perinatal care system created in Belarus is an exemplary one not only for our republic, but also for the whole world, as noted by Sergei Vasiliev, Director at the Mother and Child Republican Scientific and Practical Centre (RSPC), chief freelance obstetrician and gynaecologist of the Healthcare Ministry, “The indicators used to determine the level of clinic where a patient will give birth are clearly described in the documents. It depends on the age, the number of births, concomitant diseases, and other factors.” 
Future mothers with serious risks, oncological, neurosurgical, and endocrine pathologies are admitted to the Mother and Child RSPC, where help is available to a woman and her baby regardless of whether she has insurance or money, unlike what is customary in the West. Every year, the centre hosts from 3,500 to 4,000 births. 
“We have everything to provide highly qualified assistance: a modern material and technical base — from buildings to equipment, and high-quality personnel,” emphasised Sergei Vasiliev. “This year, we are putting into operation a hybrid X-ray endovascular operating room for high-precision interventions in placental growths, uterine fibroids, and other pathologies.”
One more important detail: the state has found a way to support married couples who cannot conceive a child. Since January 2021, by Presidential decree, every Belarusian family has been given the opportunity to make one IVF attempt for free. Thus, last year, 1,522 full cycles of infertility treatment were carried out in the country under the state programme for married couples, 576 pregnancies occurred. About Br6 million have been allocated from the republican budget for this purpose.
According to statistics, about one in three women succeed in giving birth to a child after the first IVF attempt. The procedure has become a common practice of infertility treatment; it was introduced in Belarus almost 30 years ago. During this time, at least 10,000 babies were born.

Best practices — for regions

Specialists at the Mother and Child Republican Scientific and Practical Centre nurse even 500-gramme babies with a gestation period of up to 28 weeks. The little person fits in the palm of your hand, but thanks to cutting-edge technology, the baby’s heart and respiratory functions are supported, it is fed and can be operated on, if necessary. The best equipment and techniques are available to help doctors: invasive monitoring, instrumental diagnostics, and surfactant therapy.  
The survival rate of premature babies is about 90 percent. It is unique! Moreover, children grow up healthy and by a certain age are no different from their peers.
Maybe it will come as a revelation to someone, but Belarusian doctors perform surgical interventions on babies even in the womb. This usually helps to reduce many disabling diseases in a child and preserve the function of various organs. “The first experience of the kind was gained several years ago in the treatment of myelocele,” recounted Sergei Vasiliev. “The results were encouraging, and we continued to develop new methods. For the third year, the fetal surgery department has been operating in our centre, where we perform 60 to 70 different intrauterine surgeries annually.”
Since specialists of the Mother and Child RSPC deal with the most severe patients, they create methods, clinical protocols and distribute them throughout the country. One of the latest developments is help to pregnant women with placenta accreta. “Together with the Minsk Scientific and Practical Centre for Surgery, Transplantology and Haematology, the Cardiology Republican Scientific and Practical Centre, we have developed X-ray endovascular techniques,” shared Sergei Vasiliev. “The technology has been distributed to other clinics across the country. And recently, an educational and training centre has been opened to train doctors and mid-level medical staff. Doctors practise their skills in implementing new techniques using training simulators at the simulation centre. In 2024 alone, more than 100 specialists completed their studies.” 

  

Partner childbirth and abortion prevention

The Mother and Child Republican Scientific and Practical Centre promotes family values. It is not for nothing that the centre was awarded the landmark Spiritual Revival state prize — in particular, for its family-oriented approach.
“We have opened family delivery rooms, wards for the joint stay of mum, dad and baby; we provide partner childbirths and have created a breast milk bank so that babies in intensive care units receive breast milk,” Sergei Vasiliev listed the achievements of the clinic. “By the way, if the baby is in intensive care, parents can visit it daily. When the baby’s condition allows, it is even permitted to take it out of the incubator and put it on the mother’s chest. Dads are also involved in nursing.” 
The monitoring department at the Mother and Child RSPC co-ordinates the operation of teen-friendly centres. There are 58 such centres in Belarus, where doctors, psychologists, and representatives of the clergy teach children a healthy lifestyle, proper sexual behaviour, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and abortion. They manage to save every third pregnancy. The main focus is on the family. “My firm conviction is that there is nothing to be afraid of,” concluded Sergei Vasiliev. “This especially concerns young people who want to have a successful career, but worry that family will interfere. Who will remain after us? Children. They are the continuation of our lineage. Who are we going to leave everything to? Only to children.”

NUMBERS

Nearly 5,000 paediatricians monitor the health of children in Belarus. A day in the children’s intensive care unit costs the state more than a thousand Belarusian roubles.

FACTS

Belarus has one of the lowest under-five mortality rate (U5MR). We rank fourth in the world, sharing this place with Austria, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Montenegro and Switzerland.

By Yelena Basikirskaya