record number of pregnant women and slowed population decline – Troms and Finnmark

The midwife had to sit down when she first realized how many pregnant women she follows up on. – It is very special this year. We have a record number of pregnant women this early in the year. Annie Henriksen smiles widely, and she is not alone in doing so. After many decades in which the number of newborns has shrunk sharply, the news comes as a pleasant surprise in the municipality out in the sea gap. Could this mean that the trend is about to reverse? It is busier than it has been for a long time for Annie Henriksen. Now there are more visits, follow-up sessions and phone calls. Photo: Johan Isak Niska Enough to do Annie started as a midwife in Loppa in the 90s. She had high expectations of improving the offer for pregnant women in the municipality she values ​​- and has roots in. She followed up between 20 and 30 pregnancies a year, so there was plenty to do. – At the time, could you imagine how low this number would be? – No, I couldn’t. Annie Henriksen could be retired today, but will continue as a midwife in Loppa as long as she can. Photo: Johan Isak Niska Beyond the 2000s, Annie realized that the number of pregnant women she followed was really going down. In addition, society was drained of people. Important fisheries were shut down. There were fewer jobs, people left and schools were closed. More and more houses were empty. – I saw that it was starting to slide down. It was sad to see and feel it, says Annie. Could her dream place survive this? The population in Loppa was at its highest in 1960 with 2,706 inhabitants. Today, the municipality is characterized by so-called aging, the population is scattered, and half live in the municipal center Øksfjord. Photo: Johan Isak Niska Since Annie started as a midwife in Loppa, the population has almost halved. Now there are about 860 inhabitants. Nevertheless, the midwife has never considered quitting. But last year the municipality reached one of its lowest birth rates ever: 2. Despite this, Annie was not as worried this time. Because the midwife had noticed a change in the village which could indicate that she would have more to do again. Not realistic in all The government has a target for the population to increase in the districts. Although there will be more in Norway by 2050, it is expected that the population will shrink in 40 per cent of the least central municipalities. And that applies mostly in the rural areas. Many municipalities are concerned that the population should increase, but that is not realistic in all of them. This is what Marit Mellingen, director of the District Centre, tells us. She believes that you should rather focus on stabilizing the population and keeping the residents you have. – We believe that the municipalities should set goals that provide a positive spark and create good communities where people want to live and stay. But what does that actually mean? News like this provides a good starting point for municipalities to make an extra effort and build good local communities people want to be in, says Marit Mellingen about the number of pregnant women in Loppa. Photo: Geir Bjarte Hjetland / news It is important to provide good services, enough housing, work and, not least, good social meeting places – where you can make friends and have a good time. And that immigrants are welcomed and included in the local community. And on exactly these points, changes have taken place that make the coastal municipality in the north smile. Knut Einar Johansen has been a fisherman for fifty years. He has seen the fishing industry go up and down – and really down – in Loppa. But now there is finally a good atmosphere in the harbor again. Over the past five years, more fishing boats have arrived. Like the neighbor on the quay. His name is Tadas Kacerauskis, he is from Lithuania and came here three years ago. And he says that the industry is flourishing. – Every year there is a new record for those who work on the fish farm. They accept most of the fish, so we fishermen are happy. Now the plan is to buy an even bigger boat. Knut Einar has also noticed more life in the village in recent years. – The population must have risen, I can’t think of anything else, he laughs. In any case, there are several new faces in the village, and there is activity that brings new life. In the last two years, a total of 155 people have moved to Loppa, and this is, on rare occasion, actually more than those who moved away. – And it is an enrichment, says Torill Myreng Martinsen. She is a manager at the nursery, has worked there for 30 years and has a good overview of the families who live under the high Finnmark Alps. – When I talk to people, they look forward to the future. And when you walk in the village now, you meet new fellow villagers that I don’t know before, she smiles. Because, like the midwife, she thought it looked dark. But not anymore. – We get more immigrants who want to establish themselves. Our business life is flourishing, we have got new meeting places, and the latest is a festival which can hopefully become a tradition. And in addition, the focus is on something that makes the nursery manager extra happy. Torill Myren Martinsen has no visions of the municipality becoming large, but hopes that the population will stabilize and that they will be able to keep what they have today. Photo: Irmelin Kulbrandstad A new center for school, kindergarten and library is to be built. And it will be something completely different from the old and worn boarding school where the kindergarten is now. Today they have 24 children. But Torill imagines that there will be more. – What makes you believe that? – All the positivism. We meet more prams on the road than before. And I think the new competence center will make it more attractive to settle here. But then housing is needed. A kindergarten graduation cohort of seven children is considered large in Loppa. There are 24 children divided into three departments in the nursery. Martina Žaloudková from Slovakia works in the kindergarten. She came with her husband and children two years ago and says that the local community has welcomed them. The kindergarten is located in a former boarding school building and is somewhat worn. In a few years it will be in a modern and new building. Because the lack of housing has stuck in the wheels for the small coastal municipality. But now more homes will be built, which will hopefully make it more attractive. And something also happens in houses that are already there. Such as Loppakroa, where you can meet to eat, have a coffee or simply have a drink. It has been a long time since the residents have had a place to meet in this way, and it came into place last year. And it has been long awaited. The flea trap came into place a little over a year ago. It is one of two cafes that have opened in recent years. Glenn Martinsen (27) from Øksfjord believes the inn is positive for the village. – It is a good step forward. It helps to get people to stay here, he says, but misses a little more opportunities for young people. At the inn, both young and old gather for meals, social gatherings and various events – such as concerts or Syrian evenings. Kim Gøran Pedersen is among those who run the inn. He says that it is popular and has filled a need. – That means everything. We need it to have a living society, he says. This is now happening, 28-year-old pregnant Lisa Marie Håland Wilhelmsen welcomes. She and her family moved here four years ago. Proximity to relatives and free nursery school were reasons why they came. And they have plans to stay put. – For the time being, we are enjoying ourselves here. It is safe and good when you have small children, says Lisa Marie. And she is happy that the municipality has a midwife she can trust. Lisa Marie about the pregnancy numbers: – There are a lot of people to be here in the village. So it’s really nice. It is very positive for the village if everyone stays. Photo: Irmelin Kulbrandstad “Oi, oi, oi!” Those were the first words that came out when the midwife realized that now there will be more to do in the future. It turns out to be a record start to the year with ten pregnant women so far. And it can well be called “a baby boom” in the Loppa context. Over the past few years, Annie had seen the influx of young people, migrant workers and refugees. – I hoped that they would enjoy themselves, and that it would perhaps have an impact on my work. And it did. And she sees that it spreads like fine waves around society. The midwife examines the stomach of pregnant Alina from Ukraine. She says that they have good contact with the midwife during the pregnancy. Annie Henriksen says that she is happy to be able to follow up more pregnant women again. The midwife has a good overview of the number of pregnancies and births during the years she has worked there. For municipalities with low birth rates and emigration, labor immigration has been very important, says Marit Mellingen in the District Centre. This is how business and the public sector have obtained the workforce they need. And this will continue to be important in the future. But it is a challenge to get migrants without local connections to stay. – That is why it is important that the municipalities are good at looking after them as important contributors to the local community, include them and ensure that they thrive, says Mellingen. Labor immigration dampens the population decline in Loppa. Photo: CHRISTIAN KRÅKENES / news – The Dream Place will not die soon There is good reason to smile in Loppa now, but the municipality still has a job to do. As mentioned, this applies to housing, but there is also a need to create new types of jobs where young people can use their education. Migration has slowed the decline in the population, but it is still falling. But with the ten pregnant women and the positive changes the midwife and others have seen, she is clear in her speech: – My dream place is not dying anytime soon. She believes in even more pregnancies before the end of the year. One often appears in early autumn as well. – Then you’ve enjoyed yourself this summer, and then someone comes in September and says they’re pregnant, laughs Annie. – I’m not a fortune teller, but according to the statistics, it’s not unusual. Annie Henriksen has heard that there is someone in the village who is going to be a midwife. Maybe she will pass on the baton? Photo: Johan Isak Niska



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