DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – In her second pregnancy, Insaf decided to go to her doctor to discuss having the caesarian section in a public hospital at half the price rather than a private one, as prices of C-sections reached into the millions of Syrian pounds.
She had the operation in a public hospital and paid half the expense of that private hospitals were asking for. The anesthesiologist took his share and the rest went to the performing doctor.
Birth control does not always work, which makes the termination of pregnancies increase in number, whether due to poverty, bad economic conditions, or as a result of an unwanted pregnancy.
High expenses
The cost of a Caesarian sections has risen. Ala al-Ali said she gave birth to her daughter and stopped having children despite her desire to have another child due to her economic situation. She lives in a rented house, and her husband is still serving as a military reserve. They can barely provide baby formula and diapers for their daughter. She cannot imagine what having another baby would be like.
Al-Ali added that the expenses of a C-section vary from one hospital to the other, but it is not less than 500,000 SYP (about $57) and can reach 5 million SYP ($568). Her first birth was by a C-section, which means her second is likely to be a C-section as well.
On the other hand, Hanan said she did not breastfeed her daughter and had to give her baby formula. But due to its high prices and unavailability, she decided to give her daughter diluted cow milk, even though it is not suitable for babies. The price of a NAN brand baby formula can reach 45,000 SYP ($5) if available, which made her take this decision.
Sentenced to prison
All of the previous reasons prompt some women to end their pregnancies, according to the aforementioned sources.
However, Muamar al-Basatna, a pseudonym of a gynecologist, told North Press that there are other reasons for the increase in abortions.
He explained that many private clinics perform abortions depending on the doctor, as some do not agree to do procedures of this kind since it is illegal and punished by 1-3 years in prison for the operating doctor, even if it is the desire of the pregnant woman.
There are some people who “built a fortune due to this kind of operations, especially after increasing numbers of people who want to end pregnancies during years of war, and due to significant decrease in the number of births in hospitals.”
Al-Basatna said that the reasons behind the desire to end a pregnancy vary between terrible economic conditions and poverty of the family, especially those who have one child or more, or for other reasons like pregnancy out of wedlock, which is increasing after the spread of drugs among the youth and changing social traditions as a result of war, poverty, and drugs.
Captagon has long been a lucrative part of Syria’s war economy, estimated to be worth billions of dollars a year.
The Captagon manufacturing in Syria dates back to the early years of the decade-long conflict, as the Syrian government used to give the drug to its soldiers to boost their fighting mood and addict them to battles.
Several international reports, headed by the US Treasury, accuse the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia of running large drug trafficking networks in this border area, as well as other Syrian regions.
In April, the European Union (EU) added 25 new individuals and eight entities on the Syria sanctions list, including members of President Bashar al-Assad’s family, accusing them of drug making and trafficking.
There are many cases of “girls under the age of 20” who visit the clinic to have an abortion, he noted.
New behaviors
Samar Azaam, a pseudonym of a social activist, told North Press that the spread of narcotics imposed new behaviors among the youth, especially teenagers and young adults, and made the control of parents, with declining financial capabilities, over their children very limited.
She noted that there are other reasons for ending pregnancy “such as thinking about immigrating, which prompt couples to postpone having children or end the pregnancy when it happens.”
“Polygamy also increased, especially among those who became rich during the war. Most do not want to have children because they already have children, and they marry other wives not to raise a family, but for pleasure,” Azaam noted.
The report of the Family Affairs Board, affiliated with the Syrian government, stated that the population growth rate is declining. In 2010 it increased by 34 per thousand, whereas in 2015, it decreased by 17 per thousand. It increased in 2019, but remained below the rate.