EDITORIAL - How to increase the birth rate?

 

Recently there has been much talk about the low birth rate in Barbados, especially since it was suggested that one way to address this growing concern would be for Government to pay married couples to have children. This has caused much debate among the public, social commentators and the clergy, and it is hoped that it sparks dialogue that can propel positive action to occur, because whether we want to admit it or not, there has been a marked decline in the country’s birth rate.
 
The birth rate currently stands at 1.84 births per woman, which is slightly below that of the United States, which has said its desired rate is 2.1 if they are to have stable population growth. Added to Barbados’ plight is that the average life expectancy is 75.5 years, and if babies are not being born we could face a population crisis in years to come, which would seriously impact the delivery of social services.
 
This is a reality that an entity like the National Insurance has certainly been looking at, because if they are paying out pensions in excess of what is coming in through contributions from employees, then that fund could face tremendous difficulty in staying capitalised; not to mention, the uphill battle we could also experience if we do not get a handle on the non-communicable diseases challenge. If that ageing population is plagued with these NCDs and the cost of health care continues upwards, it will become even harder to finance public health care too. Therefore, the fact that the birth rate in Barbados is low is something that we cannot ignore; and while some persons took offence to what has been suggested, we have to put feelings aside and face reality.   
 
Some have suggested that family planning outreach in Barbados has been too successful and that is why women are not having children; others say that the current economic environment is a deterrent; and others still have suggested that families are not growing because women are putting their careers first. All of these are plausible and possible reasons singly or together, but many persons are not considering the possibility that there are women who desire children, but for whatever reason cannot have them. The infertility factor is not being given enough consideration, and this is because it is still a taboo subject.
 
It is a topic that persons are still afraid to broach in public, but the fact that more than ten per cent of the patients seen at the local fertility clinic are reportedly resident in Barbados, is an indication that there is a problem. That clinic boasts of low-cost treatment and compared to overseas clinics the price is lower, but it may still be out of the reach of some Barbadians. Given that, Barbados may have to consider providing access to in vitro fertilisation under the umbrella of universal health care and services, as countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany have been doing for some time and more recently Argentina. If pursued, it could be limited to married couples with a specific income threshold, or open to all, as is done in Japan and Argentina respectively.
 
And if subsidised IVF is a go, surrogacy is also an option to explore for persons who cannot conceive. However, we know there may be some legal implications for that relative to adoption, but this should not be a deterrent. Certainly both ideas could help to push the birth rate up and should be considered.

Barbados Advocate

Mailing Address:
Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
Fax: (246) 434-2020 / (246) 434-1000