11-29-2011, 10:43 AM
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#1
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Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Western Mass
Posts: 5,415
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Jihad is Big in Germany
Gigantic baby ‘Jihad’ born in Berlin - The Local
Quote:
Doctors were left astounded after a gigantic baby set a new record for Germany’s heaviest-ever naturally born newborn Friday. The boy was named Jihad.
The 6-kilogramme (13-pound) boy was born at Berlin’s Charité hospital to a 40-year-old, 240-kilogramme (528-pound) woman who also had gestational diabetes and most likely a metabolic disorder, according to doctors.
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“She insisted on a vaginal birth despite the very high risk,” said Wolfgang Henrich, the chief doctor at Charité’s obstetrics clinic. “We usually advise mothers carrying a child with an estimated weight of more than 4.5 kilos to opt for a caesarean section to avoid complications.”
The boy will join nine brothers and four sisters – four of which had birth weights of more than five kilograms.
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That poor mother.
The last graph is the most interesting. Jihad is one of 14 children. That seems to be at odds with the general trend in Germany.
Germany's Birth Rate at Record Low, Says Fertility Study - TIME
Quote:
Germany is shrinking — fast. New figures released on May 17 show the birth rate in Europe's biggest economy has plummeted to a historic low, dropping to a level not seen since 1946. As demographers warn of the consequences of not making enough babies to replace and support an aging population, the latest figures have triggered a bout of national soul-searching and cast a harsh light on Chancellor Angela Merkel's family policies.
According to a preliminary analysis by the Federal Statistics Office, 651,000 children were born in Germany in 2009 — 30,000 fewer than in 2008, a dip of 3.6%. In 1990, German mothers were having on average 1.5 children each; today that average is down to 1.38 children per mother. With a shortfall of 190,000 between the number of people who died and the number of children who were born, Germany's birth rate is well below the level required to keep the population stable.
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And that help has to come soon: the predictions of Germany's demographic future make for uncomfortable reading. The Federal Statistics Office says Germany's population of 82 million could drop by up to 17 million over the next 50 years. Demographers fear a shrinking workforce will stymie growth and struggle to foot the bill for a rapidly aging population. "Germany's working-age population is likely to decrease 30% over the next few decades," says Kröhnert of the Berlin Institute for Population Development. "Rural areas will see a massive population decline and some villages will simply disappear — Germany will become a weak economic power in the future."
Kröhnert says that while society has become more modern and more women are choosing both career and kids, German politicians have reacted too slowly to the country's falling birth rate. With the recent multibillion dollar bailout for Greece and the euro-zone rescue package straining Germany's already stretched public finances, Merkel is coming under increasing pressure from within her own conservative party to make cuts. The powerful governor of the state of Hesse, Roland Koch, recently suggested the government could save on education and child care, although Merkel quickly distanced herself from his remarks, insisting that those areas would be spared the axe. But the Chancellor was elected last September on her promise to reduce taxes, a pledge she has been forced to put on ice for the next few years. As Germany battles to bring its spiraling budget deficit under control, it may have trouble convincing its citizens to add to the family for the good of the country.
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I'm sure that the shrinking population will be cool with propping up not only their own retirees but those of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal as well.
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