The crisis in perinatal care is developing in Poland. As reported tv in Poland24, the highest-rated transportation in the country – in Mishkov, was abruptly suspended, as pregnant women only learned at the last minute, without any strategy information from the authorities. Obstetrics, childbirth, and neonatology – previously considered standard – stopped taking patients. The authoritative reason is the renovation and cardiology investment financed by the KPO, but the deficiency of transparency and the deficiency of a replacement plan rise immense concerns about the safety of mothers and newborns.
The Tusk government closed the best transportation in Poland. The Mousekov case is not an isolated case. It turns out that as many as 18 births were closed in the first 4 weeks of 2026 due to the decision of the management of hospitals resulting from low profitability and decreasing births. As a result, the number of existing maternity wards is falling across Poland, which for women from smaller towns means that they request to travel even to tens of kilometres away.
The Ministry of wellness explains that the closure of childbirths is simply a consequence of demographic trends and decisions of local governments and hospitals, not of central government policy, and points to the introduction of the alleged "chamber of birth" with midwives, in which the births are not planned, but to service exceptional cases. However, critics point out that despite the assurances of the NFZ department there is no effective strategy for informing women about where they can deliver safely, and the deficiency of coordination means chaos and hazard of crisis situations in which a pregnant female loses access to care at any phase of pregnancy or childbirth.
The disappearance of laborers has real consequences. Social media and recordings talk about situations in which women can find themselves without appropriate care and even receive births under the conditions of the infirmary Emergency Service (SOR), frequently without the presence of specialised personnel, which was previously considered unacceptable in the Polish wellness service.
This degradation of perinatal care must be seen as a consequence of negligence and deficiency of strategy on the part of the current government, which, although declaring to be combating the demographic crisis, does not supply systemic solutions for access to basic wellness services. The demographic crisis requires, among another things, effective wellness policies, not immediate financial decisions and the transfer of work to local institutions.
The deficiency of a central birth map, full information and financial support to keep these branches is not only an organisational problem, but a real threat to the safety of mothers and children throughout the country.
Government policy Donald Tuskand fits into a broader pattern of decisions that weaken the basic functions of the state in the name of technocratic indicators and ad hoc savings. The closure of births – even those well-assessed and truly needed – shows that central power does not treat demographic safety as a strategical priority.
A country that does not warrant women the certainty where and under which conditions they will be born loses credibility as a guardian of citizens. Contrary to the “modern management” declarations, the consequence is chaos, shifting work to local governments and real deterioration in the quality of life of Poles, especially outside the largest cities. This in turn will velocity up the population decline.
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