LIFE AND DEATH

Birth has always been an important event, both for the individual and society. The world's population is continuously increasing, but in Norway and other western countries birth rates are falling. Today's mothers give birth to fewer children on average than in the past. The birth statistics are closely monitored by the authorities.

In her New Year's speech for 2019, Prime Minister Erna Solberg urged Norwegian women and men to have more children. Since the beginning of the 19th century, population growth has been an important and recurring theme in the political debate. A hundred years ago, Katti Anker Møller fought for the role of motherhood to be recognized as crucial social work.