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Surprise in Rhön Park: Baby Skadi is happily born on vacation!
Little Skadi was unexpectedly born while on vacation at the Rhön Park Hotel near Roth. A look at the joyful birth and Thuringia's birth development.
Surprise in Rhön Park: Baby Skadi is happily born on vacation!
The warm atmosphere in the Rhön Park Aktiv Resort near Roth, Rhön-Grabfeld district, made for a special moment: On July 30th, during a family vacation against all expectations, a mother from Rostock gave birth to her daughter Skadi at 11:17 p.m. With a weight of 2895 grams and a height of 49 centimeters, little Skadi is barely a week old. The news of this surprise not only made the proud parents happy, but also the hotel staff, who shared in the joy of this good fortune with the family. Your stay in this idyllic part of Thuringia will definitely be remembered fondly.
But while baby happiness is flourishing in the Rhön, a worrying trend is emerging in Thuringia. As diethueringer.de reports, Thuringia has been recording a dramatic decline in birth rates for years. In 2022, the number of newborns fell by more than 8% to only around 12,900. This marks the lowest level in 30 years, making the birth rate of 1.3 children per woman of childbearing age particularly worrying. Statistically speaking, 2.1 children per woman would be necessary for a stable population.
A critical situation for families
Holger Poppenhäger, President of the Thuringia State Office for Statistics, has repeatedly described the development as birth poverty. A clear trend can be seen: the path to a one-child family is becoming increasingly popular, with women also becoming mothers later and later. The pressure on young families, especially in rural areas, is increasing, while at the same time the number of deaths exceeds the number of births. According to the current figures, there were 18,200 more deaths than live births in 2022.
The situation is exacerbated by the emigration of young people: a total of 54,000 people are leaving Thuringia, while 68,000 people are moving in from abroad. However, this influx cannot compensate for the negative birth rates. In a state threatened by demographic decline and an aging population, the call for more support for families with multiple children is more urgent than ever.
The entire framework is shown by a forecast that says that Thuringia's population could fall to around 1.9 million by 2024 - with the exception of cities such as Weimar, Erfurt and Jena. Where a population decline of 28.2% is expected in Suhl, the birth of little Skadi in Roth could be a small glimmer of hope in difficult times.
In summary, the happy news of Skadi's arrival in Thuringia shows not only the joy of new life, but also the challenges the country is facing. The high birth rates of the past, such as the more than 18,000 newborns in 2017, seem to have receded into the distance, which represents not only an emotional but also a social question for families taking the step into parenthood.