4 girls born first on Xmas Day: Fertility rate declining, says Deyalsingh

DESPITE lockdown and work-from-home arrangements keeping families and couples close together over the past two years, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh says the fertility rate has not increased during the covid19 pandemic.

While visiting women who gave birth at the Port of Spain General Hospital and the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital on Christmas Day, Deyalsingh said fertility rates are actually on the decline.

"The fertility rate to replace your population is 2.1. In other words, each mother should have 2.1 babies. We are down to 1.9 or 1.7. So we are not renewing our population."

He added that in TT the rate of births is now at about 17,000 yearly and declining.

However, he said infant mortality rates have also decline sharply with only two infant deaths recorded for the year.

"We would have seen in Europe during covid19, countries actually had the maternal mortality rates go up. We went down. So the confidence in our public health care system, as far as maternal health and infant health is concerned, is at an all-time high."

Asked whether he thought people should have more children, the minister joked: "Well, I've done my part. I made two."

Deyalsingh’s visit to Christmas Day mothers at hospitals was the first since covid19 arrived in TT in 2020.

On Sunday, Annelys Zambrano was the first to deliver at 12.25 am at the Sangre Grande Hospital. She is now the proud mother of a baby girl who weighed six pounds, six ounces.

Athena Yee Kon Chung was the second at 1.50 am at the Port of Spain General Hospital, also welcoming a girl who weighed seven pounds.

And in south, a girl was also the first to be born at the San Fernando General Hospital at 2.47 am to Mya Baldeo at seven pounds, three ounces.

Tobago was not to be left out as another girl was also the first to be born at the Scarborough General Hospital at 5.01 am.

All four babies were delivered without complication and are healthy.

Deyalsingh said, "We are grateful for this, and I'm grateful to be able to come back out on Christmas Day. As you know, these are one of the days I look forward to so I can be with staff. If they could work on public holidays, then I could also come out and support them."