Russia funds IVF baby boom to battle population slump

For three years, Valeriya Pashko has been trying to get pregnant. Now her last hope is IVF, provided free by Russia's health service as authorities try to avert a new drop in the birthrate.

"My husband and I are really relieved to be getting reimbursed. This costs a lot of money," said the 23-year-old social worker.

Pashko is having fertility treatment at a perinatal centre in the town of Balashikha just outside Moscow that the authorities describe as a model for the rest of the country.

Boosting the national birth rate is a top priority for President Vladimir Putin, who made this one of the key topics in his state of the nation address this month.

"Russia's fate and its historic prospects depend on how many of us there are," he said, announcing enhanced child benefits and payouts to families for every new baby to help the country "escape from the demographic trap."