https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The number of births in Italy fell by more than 12,000 last year, the country’s national statistics office said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20171128/italy-2016-declining-birth-rate Tue, 28 Nov 2017 16:18:06 +0100 italy-2016-declining-birth-rate The number of annual births in Italy has fallen for the fifth year in the row, while policy-makers are scratching their heads as to what's putting Italians off baby-making. https://www.thelocal.it/20161129/despite-government-efforts-italys-birthrate-continues-its-sharp-decline Tue, 29 Nov 2016 11:37:11 +0100 despite-government-efforts-italys-birthrate-continues-its-sharp-decline A group of Italian hotels is offering an unusual reward to guests: any couple that conceives while staying there can claim a free holiday. https://www.thelocal.it/20161118/italy-hotels-offer-free-stays-to-couples-who-conceive-there Fri, 18 Nov 2016 13:37:59 +0100 italy-hotels-offer-free-stays-to-couples-who-conceive-there An Italian campaign to raise awareness over fertility issues has provoked outcry, with protestors accusing the government of doing nothing to tackle the real reasons behind Italy's slowing birthrate. https://www.thelocal.it/20160923/the-real-reasons-young-italians-arent-having-kids Fri, 23 Sep 2016 17:34:35 +0200 the-real-reasons-young-italians-arent-having-kids An Italian government campaign urging young couples to "get on with it" to boost the country's flagging birthrate has been pulled after a furious backlash on social media. https://www.thelocal.it/20160902/italian-fertility-campaign-scrapped-after-furious-backlash Fri, 02 Sep 2016 14:29:40 +0200 italian-fertility-campaign-scrapped-after-furious-backlash A publicity campaign encouraging Italians to have more babies – by reminding women that the older they get, the less fertile they become – has backfired on the Italian government. https://www.thelocal.it/20160901/italy-embarrassing-baby-making-campaign-backfires Thu, 01 Sep 2016 17:42:00 +0200 italy-embarrassing-baby-making-campaign-backfires A pioneering Italian gynaecologist best known for helping women in their 60s to have babies has been arrested on suspicion of removing eggs from a patient without her consent. https://www.thelocal.it/20160514/italian-fertility-doctor-suspected-of-stealing-patients-eggs Sat, 14 May 2016 15:55:20 +0200 italian-fertility-doctor-suspected-of-stealing-patients-eggs Italy's health minister Beatrice Lorenzin signed new guidelines on assisted fertility on Wednesday, updating Italy's current restrictive laws which date to 2004. https://www.thelocal.it/20150702/italy-updates-guidelines-on-assisted-fertility Thu, 02 Jul 2015 12:38:59 +0200 italy-updates-guidelines-on-assisted-fertility Two doctors are being probed for manslaughter after a 38-year-old woman died during an operation for assisted fertility treatment. https://www.thelocal.it/20150611/woman-dies-in-assisted-fertility-in-italy Thu, 11 Jun 2015 16:56:02 +0200 woman-dies-in-assisted-fertility-in-italy British pop legend Elton John called for a boycott of Dolce and Gabbana on Sunday after one of the designers behind the Italian fashion label condemned IVF babies as "synthetic". https://www.thelocal.it/20150316/elton-john-boycotts-dg-over-ivf-comments Mon, 16 Mar 2015 09:00:00 +0100 elton-john-boycotts-dg-over-ivf-comments Less than a year after Italy lifted its ban on egg donors, the first two babies have been born with the help of the fertility treatment. https://www.thelocal.it/20150310/first-italian-babies-born-with-egg-donor Tue, 10 Mar 2015 12:09:23 +0100 first-italian-babies-born-with-egg-donor With births in southern Italy at their lowest rate in over 150 years, The Local spoke to the head of a development organization about what needs to be done to help Italians have a family. https://www.thelocal.it/20141031/italys-south-needs-investment-not-baby-bonus Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:34:00 +0100 italys-south-needs-investment-not-baby-bonus The birth rate in southern Italy hit a historic low last year, the lowest registered figure since 1861, figures from a new report show. https://www.thelocal.it/20141030/births-in-southern-italy-at-lowest-since-1861 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:22:00 +0100 births-in-southern-italy-at-lowest-since-1861 A court in Bologna has granted a couple the right to use donors in fertility treatment immediately, four years since they launched their legal battle to have a family, their lawyer told The Local. https://www.thelocal.it/20140819/let-infertile-couples-use-donors-court Tue, 19 Aug 2014 14:41:00 +0200 let-infertile-couples-use-donors-court The first pregnancy by egg donation in Italy has been announced, described as a "moment of great emotion", just weeks after a ban on the fertility treatment was lifted by the country's constitutional court. https://www.thelocal.it/20140722/first-egg-donation-pregnancy-after-ban-lifted Tue, 22 Jul 2014 15:15:00 +0200 first-egg-donation-pregnancy-after-ban-lifted Public and private clinics in Italy will soon be able to provide egg and sperm donation services after a ban was lifted in April. https://www.thelocal.it/20140604/sperm-donor-services-to-start-in-italy Wed, 04 Jun 2014 16:20:00 +0200 sperm-donor-services-to-start-in-italy A woman who underwent fertility treatment at a clinic in Rome became pregnant with the twins of another couple after their embryos were mixed up, press reports said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20140414/italian-ivf-patient-pregnant-with-wrong-baby Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:50:00 +0200 italian-ivf-patient-pregnant-with-wrong-baby