What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates
Key takeaways
- Stephanie Hegarty,Population correspondent and Zsofia Paulikovics,BBC News Magyarul BBCSitting on a park bench in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, Barbara Elek is nervously refreshing her emails.
- "If it doesn't succeed, then obviously I'll be devastated, and then the last resort will be trying to make sure that, at least financially, we don't lose everything," she says.
- Like many other young Hungarian couples Barbara, 33, a social worker and Levi, 34, a chef, were eligible for tens of thousands of pounds in interest-free loans and subsidies when they promised to have two children.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
Stephanie Hegarty,Population correspondent and Zsofia Paulikovics,BBC News Magyarul BBCSitting on a park bench in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, Barbara Elek is nervously refreshing her emails. She and her husband Levi are waiting to find out if Barbara is pregnant, after their third round of IVF 10 days ago.
"If it doesn't succeed, then obviously I'll be devastated, and then the last resort will be trying to make sure that, at least financially, we don't lose everything," she says.
Like many other young Hungarian couples Barbara, 33, a social worker and Levi, 34, a chef, were eligible for tens of thousands of pounds in interest-free loans and subsidies when they promised to have two children. But they've struggled to get pregnant naturally and if they can't prove they have a child on the way by 1 November then it is possible they may have to pay back those loans with penalty interest.