After the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new government to power in Romania, and a state of emergency that began on 23 March, the eastern European country is about to begin a gradual ‘de-confinement’ on 15 May.
Two weeks after that, Cristina Niculae, a 28-year-old woman in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, is planning to give birth to a baby girl, during a scheduled Cesarean section at a private hospital which has a baby-friendly reputation.
Niculae says she chose this hospital and birth plan after a traumatic experience delivering her first child at a public hospital five years ago. She can afford it thanks to family support programmes from the city government.
