Immigrant babies account for 14% of those born in Portugal, with Brazilian women at the top

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The growing immigrant community in Portugal, which has increased by more than 80% in the last six years, is already reflected in the profile of births in the country. In 2021, around 13.65% of live births –10,881 babies– had foreign mothers.

Last year’s figure represents the highest weight in the historical series that began in 1995. In 2015, the year in which the migratory flow interrupted the period of decline caused by the financial crisis, babies with immigrant mothers were 8.4% of the total.

Largest foreign community in the European country, Brazilians also lead among international mothers. Last year, almost 40% of children born to non-Portuguese mothers were born to Brazilian women.

The 4,310 babies born to Brazilian mothers in Portugal in 2021 are more than double the 2,150 in 2017, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) provided to the Sheet🇧🇷 As Brazilian women who have dual citizenship in Portugal enter the statistics as Portuguese mothers, the number of Luso-Brazilian babies must be even greater.

In Portugal for 5 years after spending a season in Ireland, the gaucho businesswoman Luciana Borba, 38, gave birth in Lisbon in February 2021, in full general confinement due to the Covid-19 crisis.

“In addition to being my first pregnancy and all things related to immigration, there were also the many limitations of the pandemic”, says Borba, who says that she cannot count on her husband’s presence in the consultations due to health restrictions.

The businesswoman reports that she dedicated herself to learning about how the Portuguese health system works. According to her, the mastery of information such as rules and rights made it possible to reduce the number of setbacks during pregnancy and, mainly, at the time of delivery.

“I sought a lot of information and made a birth plan to arrive more confident to deal with some negative things that I knew could happen. I think that, because I was well informed, I had some rights more assured”, she says.

Although Portugal guarantees foreign pregnant women residing in the country, including those in an irregular situation, the right to medical care and childbirth in the public network, immigrant associations and support groups on social networks collect reports of xenophobia in hospitals and health centers.

In addition, there are also the limitations of the National Health Service, the Portuguese SUS, pressured by a lack of personnel and increased demand. This year, the lack of pediatricians and obstetricians led to closures and a reduction in obstetric emergency care in several institutions.

“I have a family doctor in the public network whom I really like and who gave me a lot of support during the pregnancy, but I chose to have a follow-up in the private system”, says businesswoman from Rio de Janeiro Herica Marmo. “I’ve heard some reports about induction of labor that crossed boundaries and didn’t result in positive experiences. And I wanted to be sure that I would have the procedure that was best for me and my baby.”

In the opinion of the businesswoman, who has lived in Portugal since 2016, the lack of a support network to help raise her child is the biggest challenge of motherhood abroad. “The life of an immigrant is already difficult, because we are far from our references and our affections, but when a baby is born, the need for support becomes greater”, says Marmo. “In the puerperium, we miss the understanding that maybe only someone who has known you a lifetime can give. Apart from the exhaustion of having to raise alone, or, as in my case, with just the father, a baby that requires a lot of care and attention .”

Although Brazilian women simultaneously lead the list of the largest immigrant community and foreign mothers in Portugal, the other positions in the ranking of nationalities in the country do not correspond to the leadership of resident foreigners.

United Kingdom and France, respectively in second and eighth place among immigrants in Portugal, do not appear in the top positions of the list of births. After Brazil are Angola, Cape Verde, Nepal, India, São Tomé, Guinea and Ukraine.

The explanation lies in the age of the foreigners. While there are a large number of French and British retirees in Portugal, attracted mainly by tax benefits, most migrants from former Portuguese colonies and African countries are of working age.

Cultural and language diversity pose additional challenges to medical teams. In several institutions, especially in regions with a greater presence of immigrants, there is already a network of translators, in addition to adaptations to patients’ nutritional plans.

While all babies born in Brazil are entitled to Brazilian nationality, this is not the case in Portugal. Children of foreigners are entitled to Portuguese citizenship, but certain criteria must be met.

In early 2022, the country amended the law and expanded access to citizenship for babies born to immigrants. Currently, children born in Portugal are considered Portuguese if one of the parents resides in the country for at least one year. The measure is valid even for people who have an irregular migratory status in the country.

Since 2015, the right to Portuguese nationality for the children of foreigners has been progressively expanded. The latest legislative innovation created the possibility that parents of children born in Portugal and considered Portuguese could also apply for nationality through their children. Naturalization, in these cases, can be requested after five years of residence, regular or otherwise, in Portuguese territory.

In normal naturalization processes based on length of residence, only the period with legal authorization in the country is taken into account by the authorities.

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