The story with the birth rate is not quite as dramatic, but considering that Russia underwent a nasty recession in 2008-09 the fact that births did not decrease (as they did in most other East European countries) should be taken as a positive.

FORBES: Connect

From Angelina Jolie's adoptions to Britney Spears and other celebrity births, babies are the new in-crowd.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Other factors contributing to the high increase in the number of Caesarean births included the size of the hospital, the availability of a neo-natal intensive care unit and the number of midwives on duty.

BBC: Huge rise in Caesarean births

Complication rates, including stillbirth or other problems affecting the baby, were 5.3 per 1, 000 births in hospital compared with 9.3 per 1, 000 for home births.

BBC: App to help women choose where to give birth created