In 24 European countries there was a very significant decrease. In Lithuania up to 28.1 percent. And in Austria?
Fewer babies were conceived in Europe during the first corona lockdown than in comparable periods in previous years. The number of births nine months after the peak of the first lockdown has dropped by an average of 14% in 24 European countries, including Austria, as obstetrics expert Léo Pomar of the University of Lausanne reports with colleagues in the journal Human Reproduction.
The result was mainly influenced by 13 countries where the decline in births ranged from 12% to 28%. The number dropped particularly in January 2021 in Lithuania (28.1%), Ukraine (24.4%) and Spain (23.5%), but also in Italy, Portugal and France. In Austria, however, the drop was relatively small, at -3.4%.
Scientists analyzed the national number of live births in January 2021 and compared it to the average for the months of January 2018 and January 2019. Out of 24 countries, only Finland and Denmark had more babies than in the same period. The measures of the crown were different in every country, but practically everywhere it amounted to a blockade, that is, a restriction of social life. Only Sweden did not have a blockade.
“The longer the lockdown lasted, the fewer the number of pregnancies that occurred, even in countries that were not very affected by the pandemic,” Pomar said of the study. In conclusion, the authors write: “Measures such as social distancing and social distancing, pathogen-related fears, and the social and economic crisis may be indirect factors that play a role in couples’ decisions to delay pregnancy.”
About nine months after the end of the first corona lockdown in March 2021, the average number of births in all countries was slightly above the pre-pandemic level; in Austria, the increase was 1.8%. The “missing” births in January at least were not made up immediately, the authors write. However, in some, but not all countries, the number of births in February and March 2021 has increased significantly compared to the average for the reference months 2018 and 2019 – including Finland and the Netherlands in particular.
(APA)