Giving birth in dying towns: Healthcare shrinkage in a depopulating Russian region

Institute for Interdisciplinary Health Research (IIHR)
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The aim of this chapter is, firstly, to analyze inconsistencies in public policies – discrepancies between the state demographic (pronatalist) and healthcare policies in shrinking towns. Secondly, the study aims to highlight the individual experiences of people who are planning for and giving birth and healthcare practitioners who provide maternity services. Addressing  the above aims helps to better understand the everyday life in shrinking towns drawing on  empirical evidence from Tverskaya Oblast’, which emphasizes both regional and national features of healthcare functioning.