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Expected COVID baby boom shaping up to be a baby bust
Mike Stobbe
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New York When most of the U.S. went into lockdown over a year ago, some speculated that confining couples to their homes with little to entertain them beyond Netflix would lead to a lot of baby-making. But the statistics suggest the opposite happened.
Births have fallen dramatically in many states during the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Associated Press analysis of preliminary data from half the country.
The COVID-19 baby boom appears to be a baby bust.
Nationally, even before the epidemic, the number of babies born in the U.S. was falling, dropping by less than 1% a year over the past decade as many women postponed motherhood and had smaller families.
The Associated Press analyzed birth data from 25 states for late 2020 and this year so far
In February of 2021- about nine months after Covid lockdowns swept the nation last spring - births were down 10% compared to the previous year
Instead of a baby boom as expected, 2020 saw a slight decline from about 60 births per capita in 2018 to 56.8 per capita Q4 of last year, CDC data show
But the decline got steeper in December 2020 and the first two months of 2021, according to the AP analysis
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AP analysis: The expected COVID baby boom may be a baby bust
FILE - In this Monday, April 13, 2020 file photo, a couple walks alone in a Kansas City, Mo., park at sunset as stay-at-home orders continue in much of the country in an effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. When most of the U.S. went into lockdown in 2020, some speculated that confining couples to their homes with little to entertain themselves would lead to a lot of baby-making. But the statistics suggest the opposite happened. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
When most of the U.S. went into lockdown over a year ago, some speculated that confining couples to their homes — with little to entertain them beyond Netflix — would lead to a lot of baby-making. But the statistics suggest the opposite happened.