A doctor in the postpartum department of the Gyumri Maternity Hospital, Anahit Hovhannisyan, told Aravot Daily that the number of sex-selective abortions has decreased. There are many large families in Gyumri who have had their fourth and fifth daughters over the last year.
“The intention is clear. The number of sex-selective abortions has decreased. The Ministry of Health played a huge role in this. The fact that women who found out that they were going to have a second or third daughter ended up getting abortions caused research to be carried out. Let me tell you about the last two births that took place. A woman who had 3 daughters and 1 son recently gave birth to her fourth daughter. Another woman was released yesterday who had her fourth child. She had 2 daughters and one son, and she had given birth to her third daughter. The mentality has changed. I only gave the last two births as an example; the number of similar births over the last year has increased,” Anahit Hovhannisyan said.
36-year-old Melsita Simonyan, who gave birth to her fourth daughter, advised mothers, “Never have abortions. Never abandon your children. Act according to your maternal instincts.” She said that she takes care of her children with great difficulty. “We’re not complaining,” she said, noting that she works as a waitress at one of the coffee shops in central Gyumri. Her husband works outside of Armenia.
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Melsita Simonyan is convinced that having children has nothing to do with one’s living conditions. “People who want to have children will not look at the conditions they are living in. However, if people have homes and good work, and their children are able to live someplace warm, the number of children in our country will increase.”
Nune Arevshatyan
