Despite Luxembourg's rapidly growing population, birth rates in Luxembourg were declining by 2.2% in the period from 2014 to 2016, the findings of a report jointly published by the Ministry of Health and "Luxembourg Institue of health" indicate.
6855 children were born in Luxembourg in 2016 - 150 babies less than in 2014.
In the period from 2014 to 2016, tobacco consumption during pregnancy decreased. 13.4% of women said that they kept smoking occasionally during the first trimester. In comparison to the previous report (2011-2013), this number is synonymous with a 2.3% decrease.
1 in 5 women have stopped smoking by the third trimester. Only 1 in 10 women are still smoking during the final trimester.
This positive evolution should not be used as a reason to reduce smoking in pregnancy awareness campaigns, the report warns. In fact, the figures should be interpreted with caution as some mothers do no wish to disclose their smoking habits.
Very few women (0.2%) said that they consumed alcohol or other psychoactive substances during pregnancy - the "0% alcohol during pregnancy" campaign organised by the Ministry of Health may be one of the reasons.
The report also found that nearly 1 in 3 babies were born via C-section.
