The 10,000th baby was born at the Polotsk maternity hospital. The young family was awarded a commemorative medal.

The 10,000th baby was born at the Novopolotsk maternity hospital since its opening in March 2013 after modernization. Today, the service area of this medical institution includes two cities and nine districts of the Vitebsk region, and it handles the largest number of births in the region.

The happy mother, who gave birth to the jubilee baby, was 25-year-old Victoria Velikanets, who gave birth to her second child. Together with her husband Roman, they are already raising their two-year-old son Anton, who now has a little sister, Katya. It is symbolic that both the boy and the girl were born on the 10th, with the same height of 52 cm and weight of 3.8 kg.

Not only relatives, but also representatives of the administration came to congratulate Victoria.

– The birth of Katya is a landmark event for the entire healthcare system and the city as a whole. May your children grow up healthy and happy, and may love, harmony, and prosperity be in your home, – said Dmitry Demidov, Chairman of the Novopolotsk City Executive Committee, presenting Victoria Velikanets with a gift.

Sergey Nekrasov, Chief Physician of the Novopolotsk Central City Hospital, presented the young family with a specially made commemorative medal depicting a stork carrying newborns.

The workload at the Novopolotsk maternity hospital is currently the highest in the region. Sometimes up to 18 births are handled per day. After a large-scale reconstruction, the institution is equipped with modern equipment and meets the standards of a second-level perinatal center. Good equipment with special apparatus and high qualifications of medical personnel allow for providing assistance to women and children in difficult situations, and caring for tiny babies with extremely low birth weight, born at 30 weeks of gestation.

Lately, as Ludmila Sudnik, Deputy Head of the maternity hospital, said, there has been an increase in the number of women who come for their second, third, or even fourth child. As throughout Europe, the age of mothers giving birth for the first time is increasing: young people initially

people get an education and build careers, and only after 30 years do they start a family.

Most of all, medics are pleased when happy, prosperous families have many children – after all, the health indicators of babies directly depend on the lifestyle and motivation of parents.

By the way, employees of the Novopolotsk hospital actively encourage men to be present during childbirth. Psychological support from a loved one is very important for a woman, however, the couple determines the degree of the spouse's participation independently. Not all fathers have the courage to go through the difficult path all the way to the delivery room, but some decide to do it and even cut the umbilical cord themselves.

Larisa MALASCHENYA, photo by the author. "Vitebskiye vesti".