Nis maternity ward sees more births, 50 gift packs given
In the first half of 2026, about 900 more babies were born in Serbia than last year, and Nis has about 100 more newborns. The minister handed out 50 gift packs.
Are more babies being born in Serbia than last year? According to figures presented in Nis by the minister, yes: about 900 more babies were born in the first six months of 2026 than in the same period of 2025, and the maternity ward at the University Clinical Center Nis (UKC Nis) recorded about 100 more newborns.
The figures were presented on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, by Jelena Zaric Kovacevic, Minister for Family Care and Demography in the caretaker government. She visited the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics at UKC Nis and handed out 50 gift packs to mothers and babies. She also spoke with new mothers, staff and management about the conditions in which mothers and babies are cared for.
How many more babies are there than last year?
The minister said that in the first half of this year Serbia saw almost 900 more births than in the same period last year. The outlets that covered the visit did not report it identically: one writes “about 900,” another, citing the minister, “almost 900.” The difference is in the wording, not the direction, and both confirm growth.
For Nis, JuGmedia reports about 100 more newborns than last year. The minister also named Novi Sad, Uzice and Belgrade’s “Dragisa Misovic” hospital as maternity wards with a high number of births. She said the figures on births in Nis gave her an extra push to visit, and that she had also been at the same maternity ward on January 1 this year.
“I am very glad that Nis is leading when it comes to newborn babies,” the minister told reporters at UKC Nis.
How many births take place in Nis each year?
The numbers differ here. JuGmedia reports that the Nis clinic handles between 3,200 and 3,500 births a year. Glas Juga, citing the acting director of UKC Nis, Dr. Milan Lazarevic, writes of between 3,200 and 3,300 babies a year. Neither source explains the gap of 200 at the upper end.
Lazarevic confirmed the direction, though not a final figure:
“Compared with last year, this year we have a higher number of births and a higher number of live-born babies.”
The data are tracked over set periods, he explained, and a fuller annual overview will be available at the end of the year. No source says exactly how many babies have been born in Nis from January to date.
What did the minister say at the maternity ward?
On conditions at the clinic, she said the situation is “not only satisfactory, but more than satisfactory.” Care for families, she stressed, does not end with a stay in the maternity ward:
“It is not all about health care either; we have to look after every child, every newborn child and every family.”
She described health care as one of the first forms of support that prospective parents encounter. “After that and before that, the state has to be there to support all of these families,” said Zaric Kovacevic.
She also cautioned that demographic results do not appear overnight:
“Demography is something that takes a long time, and we cannot say that we will do something today and more children will be born tomorrow. That obliges us to be responsible and to carry through all the measures we have, but also to introduce some new ones.”
As one of the existing measures she named the parental allowance, which, she said, is paid out regularly. She added that the amounts could be increased, depending on the state’s financial capacity.
What about the old maternity ward building?
Lazarevic said the maternity ward building is old, but that conditions there are, in his words, decent. A state investment in a new building for gynecology and the maternity ward is planned. The sources do not give the amount or the deadline.
The minister said that a lot of money has already gone into Nis, and that more is still to come:
“A lot of money has been invested in the new Clinical Center in Nis, and a lot of money will be invested in the new building for gynecology and the maternity ward.”
By her estimate, these investments should help Nis remain a center of health care for about two million people. Lazarevic thanked the Ministry for its support and announced continued cooperation, and the minister said she hopes to visit again early next year.
