The current global pandemic has brought with it a fair share of challenges. Whether it’s the economic aspect or life from a more holistic point of view, every element has suffered greatly to some extent. Uncertainty around the situation has been real. It has seeped into every decision of ours; therefore reflecting our doubts in the actions we choose to go ahead with. Caution has formed the centerpiece of what we know as the ‘new normal’. This very caution has been highly apparent in the latest research done US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As per the report published by CDC recently, birth rate in USA fell by 4% over the last year. While other factors are not entirely ruled out, much of it is being put down to the outbreak of the pandemic. An interesting footnote to the CDC’s research was that it’s the biggest decline in number of births since 1973. Yes, a 2% decline in births was already recorded prior to the pandemic, but the year of 2020 precisely doubled this rate.
Taking in-depth statistics provided by CDC into consideration, 3.6 million births were recorded in 2020 (based on provisional data), where the figures in two years preceding that were 3.75 million and 3.8 million respectively. If we break down the 2020 overall birth rate into different months across the year, then the decrease looks even greater. There was a 2% decrease noted in the first half of the year itself, then there was a 4% decrease in July, 7% in August, 4% in September, 6% in October and November, and a sizeable 8% decrease in the month of December.
The medical professionals are viewing this decrease with mixed feelings. While it establishes a much needed control over the population influx, it must be understood that there are going to be other repercussions as well. Dr. Rahul Gupta, chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes, talks about these repercussions.
“So, what this particular report points is something we should take really seriously, which is: Is this decline going to have demographic impacts in the future? And that there will be impact both, in terms of workforce, in terms of economy, in terms of diversity, and population?” Gupta asked. “And obviously what happened in 2020, it will probably happen again at least in 2021.”
