Kopeisk, a satellite city of Chelyabinsk, has a population of more than 140 thousand people. But now, there is only one space left in the local maternity ward, as locals reported on social networks. So, one may ask, how should we solve the demographic problem under such conditions?
By the way, in 2020, almost 146 thousand people lived in Kopeysk. In 2018-19 there were more than 148 thousand people. Reality, as they say, is obvious.
Optimizing medicine has at times led to very sad consequences, including Kopeisk. And now we have reached the maternity ward.
In the group “Texler, help!” An alarming signal appeared on the VKontakte social network in early February: “On behalf of all pregnant women and women in labor in the city of Kopeisk, I ask you to resolve the situation in the Kopeisk maternity hospital! Why did chief doctor Aleshkevich decide to leave only one bed in the maternity ward? Only for special occasions.”
Now everyone has to go give birth in the Chelyabinsk community center! Please stop this chaos and don't close our maternity hospital! After all, people from all the neighboring towns and villages come here to give birth. The city cannot be left without its own maternity hospital!”
In the comments section under the post, Arina Moskvicheva drew a conclusion entirely in Russian: “So maternity hospitals are being cut everywhere. Apparently, the authorities want people to give birth at home. How else can this be explained? The state wants a lot of births, but cuts maternity hospitals.”
The regional Ministry of Health in the comments section of the post promised to resolve the situation as soon as possible. At first the deadline was two days. Later, the ministry said: “Unfortunately, our colleagues need more time to clarify the situation. We apologize and will respond in the coming days.”
What is interesting is that 10 years ago there was a problem at the Kopeisk maternity hospital. As reported in local media, it was closed for two months for renovations, which were expected to be completed within a month.
“The regional Ministry of Health is deciding the fate of the maternity hospital in Kopeisk,” the regional television station reported. At that time, the Kopeisk women in labor were forced to go to Chelyabinsk: “I wanted it to be closer to home. Chief doctor Alexey Aleshkevich explained that they had not met the initially scheduled deadline due to the large amount of repair work.
At the Kopeisk maternity hospital, more than 1.5 thousand births are performed annually.
Chairman of the Kopeisk Public Chamber Andrei Kulpin, in a conversation with correspondent Svobodnaya Pressa, admitted that the city's population is decreasing. Something needs to be done about this: “The chief physician has sent an official response to the Ministry of Health. Overall, our opinion agrees. The birth rate must increase. It has decreased a lot.”
In turn, Chairman of the Council of Deputies of Kopeisk Evgeniy Giske told SP: “The maternity hospital is operating normally. We actually see a decrease in the number of births, 150 fewer than in the same period last year. We need to return to the issue of increasing the birth rate! The proximity and modernization of the OPC (Regional Perinatal Center) also affects the situation of women giving birth abroad.”
In general, everyone agrees in favor of increasing the birth rate. It remains to be understood how to achieve a solution to this extremely difficult problem. Especially considering the confusing situation around the maternity hospital. And there seems to be no formula to fix the situation, even on a regional scale.
In general, the birth rate in the Chelyabinsk region continues to decline. The Chelyabinsk regional government predicts that the birth rate will continue to decrease and the death rate in the region will increase. These data are contained in the 2025-2027 socio-economic forecast, published on the legal information portal.
Some obstetricians and gynecologists in the Chelyabinsk region responded to the SP's request to describe the current situation in terms of birth rates in silence.
Pensioner, resident of Kopeisk Marina B. learned about the situation of the maternity hospital only from a conversation with the author of these lines and came to the conclusion: “Optimization continues. Apparently there are not enough qualified doctors – so they are firing.”
On the website of Kopeisk City Hospital No. 1, the recruitment list includes 5 vacancies for obstetricians and gynecologists with a salary of 96 thousand rubles. So, logically, the maternity hospital should not close.
Free Press sent a request to the Ministry of Health of the Chelyabinsk Region and Kopeisk City Hospital No. 1.
The demographic situation in Russia has long been called a disaster. In 2025, the country's total fertility rate will decrease to 1.37 children/woman.
For comparison: in Europe it is 1.4. The highest were in Türkiye (1.9), France and Ireland (1.8). Minimum – in Italy, Spain and Ukraine (1.3).
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