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Europe experienced a 14% drop in the number of young children born in January 2021 compared to live births in the same month in recent years, most likely due to fears of a physical crisis from Covid-19, the first wave of the pandemic, the researchers said. .
Swiss scientists said countries with the highest severe closures in early 2020 and overcrowded sprawling care facilities experienced the largest declines in births between nine and 10 months later.
The team said the findings, published in the journal Human Reproduction, could have “long-term consequences for demographics, particularly in Western Europe, where populations are aging. “
Dr Leo Pomar, a midwife sonographer at the University Hospital of Lausanne and associate professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the first of the study, said: “The decline in births nine months after the pandemic appears to be less unusual in countries where fitness systems were suffering and hospital capacity was overwhelmed.
“This has led to lockdowns and social distancing measures to try to engage the pandemic.
“The longer the lockdowns, the fewer pregnancies have occurred in this period, even in countries that are not severely affected by the pandemic.
“We know that couples’ fears of a social and fitness crisis at the time of the first wave of covid-19 contributed to the decline in live births nine months later. “
England and Wales saw a 13% drop in live births in January 2021, to January 2018 and 2019, while the number of young children born in Scotland fell by 14%.
Lithuania and Romania recorded the largest decrease in births, with 28% and 23%, respectively.
Sweden, which has had a lockdown but has recorded a peak number of deaths, has noticed a decline in live births, the researchers found.
The team found that the duration of the blocks was the only thing related to the decrease in live births in January 2021, compared to January 2019 and January 2018.
Dr Pomar said: “The agreement we found with the duration of lockdowns would possibly reflect a much more complex phenomenon, as lockdowns are government decisions that are used as a last hotel to involve a pandemic.
“The length of confinement has a direct effect on couples. “
While live births have recovered, March 2021 is the only month with a live birth rate similar to the pre-pandemic monthly rate, the researchers said.
But they rise that this rebound does seem to compensate for 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, a professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland, who is deputy editor of Human Reproduction, said no information is yet available on the influence of blockages on couples seeking fertility treatment.
Professor De Geyter, who was not involved in the study, said: “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. “