Is there a Covid-19 pandemic baby boom?

Contradicting expectations of a baby boom during lockdown and work-from-home orders, researchers have found birth rates in wealthy nations are dropping. — dpa

Birth rates have fallen by almost 10% in some wealthy countries since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research published by the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using monthly live birth numbers from 2016 to this March (2021), the researchers reported preliminary evidence showing the pandemic has decreased fertility in all but four of 22 high-income countries studied.