What Does
Pronatalist Pressures Mean?
Pronatalist pressures are the result of policies or cultural beliefs aimed at increasing the birth rate or maintaining a high birth rate by placing pressure on families to have more children. Historically, power and wealth were equated with large populations, and death rates were extremely high. In modern times, pronatalist policies have been adopted in countries such as Sweden, where the population is shrinking owing to low birth rates.
Safeopedia Explains Pronatalist Pressures
Pronatalist policies are achieved through pronatalist advertising or propaganda, promotion of an idealized view of motherhood and sometimes through the legal suppression of birth control. Citizens are encouraged to remain in their country of origin and not emigrate. In Nazi times, eugenics and racial purity were also brought into the equation as Hitler strove to shape a ‘master race’ by placing pressure on ‘pure blooded’ Aryans to have more children. However, pronatalism is not always negative or racist. In Sweden, an enlightened form of this policy is displayed, which highlights personal freedoms.