Posted on 01/28/2021 8:15:50 AM PST by SeekAndFind
New data released by a number of states across the country show significant drops in birth rates, pointing to signs of what could be a broader baby bust amid the pandemic.
Last month, a Brookings Institution report reiterated an initial projection that the coronavirus pandemic would result in at least 300,000 fewer births in 2021. Data recently gathered by NBCLX from December 2020, when the first babies conceived during the pandemic would be born, are already showing signs of significant decline.
Compared to the same period a year earlier, a number of states that keep track of their births in near-real-time, such as Florida, reflected significant birthrate declines in December 2020. Ohio showed a decline of 7%, the Arizona birth rate fell by 5%, while in Florida, the drop was 8%.
“This is a bad situation,” Philip Cohen, a sociologist and demographer at the University of Maryland, told NBCLX. “The declines we're seeing now are … pretty substantial.”
Cohen’s research also shows declines in Google searches for pregnancy and sex-related topics and predicts the decline will likely last for months due to the economic uncertainty and other factors fueled by the pandemic.
“People make longterm decisions when they have confidence about the future, and if there's anything that undermines confidence about the future, it's this massive pandemic,” the demographer said.
In 2019, the U.S. birth rate fell to its lowest level in 35 years and Cohen said that one of the reasons for that is because more women have been working outside the home.
“One of the reasons we have falling birth rates is because women are deciding to spend less a percentage of their total lives raising children,” Cohen said. “So they have one or two children instead of three or four children. And they do a lot of other things in their lives … which is great for reducing gender inequality. (But) it comes with some challenges.”
Lyman Stone, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who also predicted a pandemic induced decline in births, told the Catholic News Agency that he was not surprised by the data.
“Lockdowns communicate worry and a negative outlook on society, which motivates pessimism about fertility,” Stone told the publication, noting that he does “not see any reason to be optimistic” about the birth rate.
“If early data on January births shows a decline above 10-15% for that month, that would be a negative surprise,” he said. “Alternatively, if births remain far below trend after October 2021, that would also be very worrying,” he added.
He urged people not to allow the pandemic to dictate when they decide to become parents, however, because, “It’s always a good idea to have a kid.”
Oppressive government, collectivist political fear-mongering, massive debt, ridicule of Christianity, and societal wide promotion of materialism and money — don’t be surprised if people do not reproduce.
Just ask the Soviet Union.
Can Hatred of Christians Lead to Support of Sexual Minorities?
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/03/50399/
Interesting. I find it almost counter-intuitive — you’re stuck at home with nothing else to do...…. Maybe it’s a lack of sustainable relationships that’s causing the drop.
I wonder if classically MARRIED couples were part of the decline, or only shack-ups/ one night stand oopsies.
In my neck of the woods it ain’t WuFlu.
It’s skyrocketing property taxes.
Who wants to raise a large family in a shoebox, which is all families can afford unless they want to pay the high four figs and up in property tax a year.
Where I live even the young couples who are living together all just got puppies instead of having babies.
It’s due to the bars/night clubs being closed, so the people can’t have as much casual sex as they used to.
Maybe that explains all the articles I see about “Custody” battles involving cats and dogs. Personal property is damaged, revenge is plotted, lies are told about the former spouse, expensive lawyers are hired to induce ‘Discovery’, all of this, in order to get Fido back ‘where he will be safe and loved!!!”
Such couples should consider adoption if they’re sterile, but only after they themselves have emotionally grown up.
No, it makes sense. What woman would want to get the coronavirus - or take a brand-new rushed out vaccine - while she's pregnant? I suspect a lot of women got very careful about birth control when the pandemic news started coming out.
Yes, the pets are “baby replacements” for people who either don’t want kids, or don’t want them just yet. It goes to ridiculous extremes too, women pushing their pug dogs around in strollers and whatnot.
THIS IS OUR CHANCE everyone have a baby
A dear lady I know had her first baby during this lockdown. She was allowed no baby shower, no support, husband only there if he tested negative and stayed masked. She was told if she had tested positive she’d have to labor mask on. And there is fear of separation if mom is positive - babies get taken away. Post partum no visits no family support it is insane. No new mom wants to go through this.
My daughter says if she gets pregnant during lockdown she is having the baby at home.
They are making childbirth as scary and miserable as possible.
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