Putin toured the clinic in St Petersburg, where babies are fertilized in test tubes, and where premature babies are nursed back to life.
"We accommodate those wishing to have a girl in pink wards, and the blue rooms are for those seeking a boy," doctors told Putin as they showed him the bright and cozy rooms.
In one office there were two large vessels shaped like milk-cans, that were for storing embryos and frozen sperm.
With the help of artificial insemination techniques, Mother and Child clinics perform miracles for parents unable to have children. These technologies did not exist in Russia in the recent past, but 12 of these reproductive clinics have now opened nationwide. Their motto is, "The future is born here."
The prime minister spoke with doctors from clinics in other cities over a video linkup.
Irina Rovnaya, the head physician at the Irkutsk-based Mother and Child centre, told Putin that they have assisted 146 women to become pregnant since 2009, resulting in the birth of 178 babies.
"Great! That means a lot of twins," Putin calculated. He then asked whether the clinic offers a service by which parents can choose the sex of their child.
"In the near future, we plan to buy equipment that will allow us not only to choose the baby's sex, but also to predict any genetic anomalies," Rovnaya explained.
A broadcast from a Moscow clinic, in addition to the head physician, involved a tiny newborn baby. They explained to Putin that the baby weighed barely more than a kilogram at birth. Russian doctors are able to nurse babies weighing 500 grams and over to life, and this vital parameter should be reduced even further soon. With their new technologies and doctors' care, the baby quickly gained weight and learned to breathe independently. His life is now out of danger. The baby's parents are allowed to remain close by during the nursing process.
As Putin was leaving the centre, the doctors, citing his appeals for improved demographic policy, presented him with a figurine of a pregnant woman and a necktie with the image of spermatozoa on it. Considering the location, this looked rather nice.
Irina Boyeva
