Post date: Dec 30, 2010 12:46:12 PM
Pregnant women in Spain under pressure to give birth before January 1 in order to qualify for the last 2,500 euro payments from the government, known as the 'baby cheque'.
MADRID, SPAIN (DECEMBER 29, 2010) TVE - Women in the late stages of pregnancy in Spain are under pressure to give birth before Saturday (January 1) in order to qualify for the last 2,500 euro (3,300 US dollars) payments from the Spanish government, known as the 'baby cheque'.The measure, introduced by the Zapatero administration to boost the country's ailing birth rate, was considered by the opposition to be a political move when introduced in 2007, but opponents are now criticising its withdrawal as part of the austerity measures being introduced at the start of 2011.
As a consequence, some clinics and gynaecologists are reporting a rush of requests from heavily pregnant women for their births to take place before Saturday. One gynaecologist told the Sur newspaper in Malaga that people are telling them of real family dramas, and how much the 2,500 euro payment is really needed as they are in economic dire straits.
Father-to-be Raul Saldana said the money was important to them as his wife wasn't working.
"She's unemployed, and I'm like a lot of Spaniards a casual worker, so the baby cheque is necessary," Saldana said.
Other mothers-to-be said they knew of people who were bringing their due dates forward.
Doctors say that while they understand the economic pressures on their patients, bringing forward any pregnancy could increase the risk to mother and child, although those considerations changed when a caesarean was requested.
However, gynaecologist Jose Antonio Mestanza did not think many mothers would do this.
"I don't really have the impression that pregnant women want to give birth before the end of the year. It would be difficult to do, and I don't think it would happen," Mestanza said.
Future father Guillermo agreed, saying: "We aren't taking any measures to bring the birth forward. We'll wait for our due date which is January 2," while a pregnant woman added she would put her and her baby's health before the cheque.
Some Spanish women are reporting to be turning to traditional methods of bringing forward a birth, such as walking, going up and down stairs, eating strawberries, or drinking milk with cinnamon.