On October 31, 2011, the United Nations is expected to announce a projected world population figure of 7 billion. This global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, says the U.N., gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages. Because censuses are infrequent and incomplete, no one knows the precise date that we will hit the 7 billion mark - the Census Bureau puts it somewhere next March. In the last 50 years, humanity has more than doubled. What could the next decade mean for our numbers and the planet? In this post, we focus on births, but we'll be back with population-related content including it's affect on the environment and our food supply. -- Paula Nelson (47 photos total)
A Cuban doctor inspects patient Amareli Suarez, 22, who is 36 weeks pregnant, at a public maternity hospital in Gatire on the outskirts of Caracas, Oct. 5, 2011. The hospital is part of the 'Barrio Adentro' program, which is a collaboration between the governments of Venezuela and Cuba, where highly trained Cuban doctors help provide publicly-funded health care for poor and marginalized communities in Venezuela.
A Cuban doctor covers the eyes of a premature baby in the natal intensive care unit of a public maternity hospital in Gatire on the outskirts of Caracas, Oct. 5, 2011.
Cuban doctors attend a birth as Venezuelan students watch at a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011.
Obstetrician Ana Lara carries baby Diego Alejandro, born by caesarean in the private Aquamater clinic in Caracas, Sept. 10, 2011. Aquamater opened in 1999 and is the first centre specializing in waterbirths in Venezuela. It aims to advise couples, who pay a fee, on techniques for breastfeeding, pain relief and different ways of giving birth.
Cuban neonatologists watch over premature babies in the natal intensive care unit of a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011. The hospital is part of the 'Barrio Adentro' program, which is a collaboration between the governments of Venezuela and Cuba.
A premature baby sleeps in an incubator in the natal intensive care unit at a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011. Highly trained Cuban doctors help provide publicly-funded health care for poor and marginalized communities in Venezuela as part of the 'Barrio Adentro' program
Katy, who is 37 weeks pregnant, takes part in a prenatal course in the swimming pool of the private Aquamater clinic in Caracas, Oct. 1, 2011. Aquamater opened in 1999 and is the first centre specializing in waterbirths in Venezuela.
Katy and her husband Facundo, practice her breathing during a swimming pool prenatal course run by the private Aquamater clinic in Caracas, Oct. 1, 2011.
Pregnant couple Kerwin and Astrid, both 19 years-old, attend a prenatal course given by the private Aquamater clinic in Caracas, Oct. 1, 2011.
Pregnant women exercise during a prenatal course conducted by the civil association Nina Madre (Child Mother) in Caracas, Sept. 21, 2011.
Pregnant women wait for their turn to undergo a Cesarean section (c-section) procedure at the Santa Ana public maternity hospital in Caracas, Oct. 19, 2011.
Doctors hold one of the newborn triplets of Yojaimi Garcia, 20, as she undergoes a caesarean section at the Santa Ana public maternity hospital in Caracas, Oct. 23, 2011.
A newborn baby is measured by a doctor minutes after he was born, inside the childbirth unit of the Santa Ana public maternity hospital in Caracas, Oct. 19, 2011.
A nurse fills baby bottles inside the child care unit at the Santa Ana public maternity hospital in Caracas, Oct. 22, 2011.
Idaima Lopez, 24, pregnant with triplets, waits in a bed in a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011.
A Cuban doctor checks on a pregnant woman at a Barrio Adentro clinic in Naiguate in the state of Vargas, Oct. 6, 2011. The Barrio Adentro' program, which is a collaboration between the governments of Venezuela and Cuba, brings highly trained Cuban doctors to help provide publicly-funded health care for poor and marginalized communities in Venezuela.
A mother and her newborn lay on a bed inside the childbirth unit at hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Oct. 21, 2011. The cost of having a baby delivered at the public hospital is $10.
The bloodstained feet of mothers are seen after they've given birth inside the childbirth unit at hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Oct. 21, 2011.
A premature baby sleeps in an incubator in the natal intensive care unit in a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011.
Maria Pena, 19, carries her five day-old baby as Carmen Cartaya holds her four day-old nephew in a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011.
Mothers and newborn babies wait on beds inside the childbirth unit at hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Oct. 21, 2011.
Newly born babies rest inside a ward at a hospital on the occasion of "World Population Day" in the northern Indian city Lucknow, July 11, 2009.
A baby stretches its hand from under a quilt at a local hospital in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, Oct. 25, 2011.
Nurses stand around a newborn baby lying in a trolley inside a maternity ward in Karachi, Oct. 25, 2011.
A nurse checks Yang Huiqing before she has a cesarean section in Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, Oct. 24, 2011. Yang and her husband Chen Yiming, both born under the one-child policy, had their first baby as the world population was about to reach the seven billion mark.
Chen Yiming talks to his wife as she is carried to the operating room before a cesarean section in Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, Oct. 24, 2011. China, the world's most populated country with more that 1.34 billion people, introduced a law that limits most urban families to one child. The policy is meant to avoid over-population, but as families shrink and the population structure moves towards an inverted pyramid, many demographers worry that a shrinking pool of young people won't be able to support and care for their elders.
A nurse speaks to Yang Huiqing before she has a cesarean section in Shanghai, Oct. 24, 2011. Yang and her husband Chen Yiming, both born under the one-child policy.
Nurses watch as Yang Huiqing has a cesarean section, October 24, 2011. Yang and her husband Chen Yiming, both born under the one-child policy, had their first baby as the world population was about to reach the seven billion mark. China introduced a law that limits most urban families to one child. The policy is meant to avoid over-population.
A doctor holds up the newborn baby of Yang Huiqing, Oct. 24, 2011. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)Chen Yiming waits in the lobby of the delivery room, Oct. 24, 2011.
Wang Hui Qio and Guo Hua Li, grandmothers of the newborn baby of Yang Huiqing, celebrate the birth in Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, Oct. 24, 2011.
Yang Huiqing, 26, texts her husband as she rests in the delivery room in Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, Oct. 24, 2011.
Pregnant women lie on beds while waiting to give birth in the maternity ward of the Central Obstetrics Hospital in Hanoi, Oct. 27, 2011.
Doctors help Le Thi Nga, 26, give birth in the maternity ward of the Central Obstetrics Hospital in Hanoi, Oct. 27, 2011.
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