The state needs to think outside the box when it comes to the delivery charge.
Countries all over the world struggle with a drop in delivery costs, and Thailand is no exception. Thailand’s average delivery charge from 1963 to 1983 was roughly 1 million per year. The overall number of newborn infants decreased to 502, 107( the lowest in 71 times ) by the year 2022, while the suicide rate was 595, 965.
Sustarum: Take Scandinavian lessons.
The total fertility rate( TFR ) should be at least 2.1 children per woman in order to maintain the demographic scale of the nation. Thailand’s annual TFR was roughly 6.1 births per woman in the 1960s, but over the past ten years, it has dramatically decreased to 1.4 – 1.5.
Although the government has implemented initiatives to increase the nation’s baby price, they have not yet been successful.
The Public Health Ministry just unveiled its new initiatives to promote increased childbearing among lovers. To help couples who have problems with duplication, one must open at least one fertility clinic in each province.
Cholnan Srikaew, the minister of public health, added that the government is thinking about promoting a express welfare program that extends parental leave for couples or increases child support payments from 600 to 3, 000 baht per month.
But, Assoc Prof. Sustarum Thammaboosadee, a professor at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Thammasat University, cautioned the Bangkok Post that increased state support for child rearing might not always lead to higher delivery costs.
It is unquestionably beneficial to the public to support state-funded childbearing policies, especially if the ministry can include fertility services in the Universal Coverage Scheme ( UCS ) or social security coverage. Nevertheless, he claimed that there are factors outside of state security that motivate people to have children.
Fewer persons, no issue
According to Assoc Prof. Sustarum, birth rates have decreased over time even in nations with robust social security systems, like Nordic nations.
The 2022 TFR is 1.6 births per person in Norway, 1.7 in Denmark, and 1.8 in Sweden thanks to well-supported parenting tools, such as paid maternal leave, subsidised childcare and care facilities.
Despite having a smaller population, the Norwegian market is more robust than that of many other regions of Europe.
This could serve as a wake-up call for Thailand to embrace cutting-edge technologies like automation and artificial intelligence to take the place of labor in some sectors, like the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
According to Assoc Prof. Sustarum, world is shifting to financial models that no longer heavily rely on population growth as fewer babies are born.
He asserted that having fewer kids and older kids is not always a bad thing. In reality, emotionally and financially responsible parents frequently have a better handle on child raising.
Assoc Prof. Sustarum stated that Thai laws governing borrowing by same-sex people should also be taken into consideration, in addition to encouraging heterosexual couples to have more children.
He expressed his opinion that” taking care of live births in our land regardless of their status is no less crucial than encouraging society to reproduce.”
A shift in norms
The growing pattern of childlessness may be accelerated by monetary constraints that prevent young people from affording to raise children. Even those who are eager to have children still think that state-subsidized care is necessary.
The National Institute of Development Administration ( Nida ) released a survey titled” Let’s Have Children” on October 1st that looked into how people felt about having children.
65.1 % of the 1,310 respondents said that free training up to the college degree is the most desired form of state security for encouraging people to have children, and 63.6 % said they want a child support give until their kids turn 15 years old.
Even so, a lot of people today choose to live differently so they can pursue higher education, go job hunting, or travel the globe without worrying about their kids.
Individuals may have had children in the past to complete their marriages. Lifelong values were associated with caregiving or giving birth to a baby. It is very diverse today. Being a parent may determine the meaning of life for some groups of people. However, for many more, living in a nation where they are guaranteed justice and equitable wealth distribution may allow them to live fulfilling lives, which is also of great importance, according to Assoc Prof. Sustarum.
He claimed that if Thailand can change its socioeconomic scale in line with its declining population size, worries about a large labor force or declining productivity will go away. ” If citizen welfare is properly taken care of, the nation’s economy will grow.”