Serbia wants baby boom, but couples seem not in the mood

dinars a month from the state to do nothing . . . just to give birth.”

But critics say the law excludes many would-be mothers. The full package of state aid for maternity leave is only available to women who have been working without interruption for 18 months.

“What about many women who either do unregistered work in the grey economy or volunteer in public service, like doctors or lawyers, without any payment?” asked Tatjana Macura, an opposition MP who has been advocating to change the law on behalf of the NGO “Mame su zakon” (Mums Rule).

According to various estimates, more than a quarter of Serbia’s working population is employed in unofficial work, with an even higher proportion among women.

“These women are invisible for the system because they have worked illegally and would not receive any aid,” said Macura.

The law also offers minimal maternity support to unemployed women in a country where the youth jobless rate was over 30 per cent last year.

Baby abroad

Many women are also afraid to take maternity leave because it remains common for businesses to fire them afterwards, despite the practice being illegal, added Macura.

The new maternity law also cuts support for women earn- ing more than € 1,200 ($1,363) a month.

Instead of receiving five months of salary during maternity leave as the previous law allowed, they will only receive three.

Andrijana Marinkovic, a 33year-old mother affected by the change, said it made her consider raising her one-monthold baby boy abroad, such as an EU or other Western country which gives more support to family life.

“Nobody makes a decision to become a parent because of state support or lack of it, but the [Serbian] state certainly doesn’t make that decision easier,” Marinkovic said.

On top of the shrinking birth rate, a “brain drain” sees tens of thousands of young Serbians pack their bags every year to study and work in wealthier countries.

That means the challenge is not only encouraging more births, but persuading Serbians to have their babies at home.

Kristina Markovic, a 22year-old economist, works part-time and lives with an unemployed partner.

“We plan to have a family but not until we both have stable jobs,” which means regular salaries, insurance and the possibility to live independently from parents, she said.

“We will decide [to have kids] eventually but my wish would be to give birth in some EU state,” she added.