October 14 – Republican Mother's Day

Mother's Day has been celebrated in Belarus since 1996. This holiday is a recognition of the special mission of women, associated with childbirth, and their huge contribution to the preservation and strengthening of spiritual, moral, and family values.

Honor and respect for women is one of the life rules of the Belarusian people. Only a mother knows how to love her children so selflessly and devotedly; she gives the first lessons of morality and preserves family ideals: a sense of honor and dignity, friendship and mutual assistance, respect for parents, mercy, and kinship ties.

The tradition of celebrating Mother's Day in Belarus originates from a religious holiday called the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. According to legend, in Jerusalem in 910, during a service, the Theotokos appeared to the praying people and covered them with a white veil, protecting God's children. Therefore, Mother's Day was timed to coincide with this religious holiday.

Mother's Day is of great importance in the country's ideology, as it is a unique way of strengthening traditional family values and moral foundations.

In the Republic of Belarus, care for women, addressing issues of safe motherhood, maintaining the reproductive health of the population, and increasing the birth rate are guaranteed by legislative normative legal acts: the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Laws of the Republic of Belarus "On Healthcare," "On the Rights of the Child," and the Code "On Marriage and Family."

Currently, the State Program "People's Health and Demographic Security of the Republic of Belarus" is being implemented. The program's objectives include increasing the birth rate and strengthening socio-economic support for families in connection with the birth and upbringing of children, creating conditions for reducing social orphanhood, developing family forms of care, raising orphans and children left without parental care, reviving and promoting family values and traditions, improving the reproductive health of the population, and protecting motherhood and childhood.

The state has recognized the significance of the contribution of Belarusian women to many spheres of society. Many modern women are employed in various sectors of the country's economy, participate in the governance of the country, serving as deputies of local Councils of Deputies, and deputies of the chambers of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. The main recognition of the significance of motherhood is the establishment in Belarus of the Order of Mother, which has been awarded to more than 5.2 thousand women who have given birth to and raised five or more children. A number of measures are being implemented in Belarus to improve the protection of motherhood and childhood, and women's reproductive health: protection of pregnant women's health, improvement of pediatric care, pre-marital counseling for future parents; creation of a gynecological service for children and adolescents; information and educational work on forming a healthy lifestyle.

The resilience of the nation, society, and state is determined by the position of the family, its level of well-being, and stability. The specifics of socio-economic transformations of recent decades have positively influenced the standard of living of the population. Large-scale social programs are being implemented, such as providing financial assistance from the state to large and young families in housing construction, developing a system of free food provision for children in the first two years of life, and providing targeted social assistance.

Every child born should be wanted, as the family is of paramount importance in a person's formation, development, and upbringing.

The Republic of Belarus has noted a steady trend of decline in all indicators of child mortality. With the help of the latest technologies in the republic's perinatal centers, newborns weighing from 500 to 1000 grams are being cared for. Currently, a comprehensive set of measures to improve the reproductive health of women and men, and the organization of specialized care for families with childbirth problems has been fully implemented. The use of complex and unique technologies in obstetrics and gynecology allows women with diseases that complicate pregnancy and childbirth to become mothers. More and more children are born as a result of infertility treatment using assisted reproductive technologies. Measures aimed at strengthening the health of mother and child, and ensuring safe motherhood are reflected in the National Strategy for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development for the period up to 2025. Special attention is currently paid to the problem of social orphanhood. In recent years, the situation has been significantly improved. In particular, the number of children in a socially dangerous situation has decreased. The state has forced negligent parents to work and pay for the maintenance of their children. The state guarantees that the protection of maternal and child health and the strengthening of family values will remain the main tasks of our country's policy.

The observance and expansion of the principles of family policy by all institutions of society is a guarantee of the state's stability.

Prepared by specialists

of the Public Health Department

SE "Vitebsk Regional Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology"

based on materials from Internet sources