The number of young children born in January 2021 has declined from previous years due to fitness issues similar to those of COVID-19.
Countries with the strictest lockdowns in early 2020 and overburdened extensive care sets experienced the largest declines in births between nine and 10 months later, according to Swiss scientists.
Dr Leo Pomar, first of the study and sonographer midwife at the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, said: “The decline in births nine months after the pandemic appears to be more common in countries where health systems were suffering and hospital capacity was overwhelmed. “”
“This has led to lockdowns and social distancing measures to engage the pandemic,” Dr. Pomar explained.
“The longer the lockdowns, the fewer pregnancies there are in this period, even in countries that are not severely affected by the pandemic. “
Live births in England and Wales fell by 13% in January 2021, to 2018 and 2019, and in Scotland they fell by 14%.
Countries with live birth relief were Lithuania (28 percent) and Romania (23 percent).
The researchers found that Sweden, which did not have a lockdown, did not revel in a decline in live births, despite a peak death toll from the pandemic.
The length of the closures is the only thing the team found linked to the decline in live births in January 2021, compared to January 2019 and January 2018.
Dr Pomar commented: “The arrangement we discovered with the length of closures would possibly reflect a much more complex phenomenon, as closures are government decisions that are used as the last hotel to involve a pandemic.
“The length of confinement has a direct effect on couples. “
Although birth rates have now noticed a resurgence, studies show that March 2021 is the only month on record to have a birth rate at a point similar to the average rate before the pandemic.
This rebound is still enough to offset the fall in the birth rate in January 2021.
Dr Pomar said: “The fact that the uptick in births seems to offset the decline in January 2021 may have long-term consequences for demographics, i. e. in Western Europe, where populations are ageing. “
Christian De Geyter, deputy editor-in-chief of Human Reproduction and professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland, said no data on the influence of blockages on couples seeking fertility treatment is yet known.
Professor De Geyter, who was not involved in the study, commented: “These observations are vital because they show human reproductive behaviour, as evidenced through the number of live births, changes in dramatic events, epidemics and global crises. “