New data on U.S. births suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a smaller-than-expected baby bust.
The U.S. saw about 7,000 fewer births through the first nine months of 2021 compared with the same period the year prior, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The numbers reflect conceptions that occurred roughly from April through December 2020, a period that includes the first part of last winter’s COVID-19 case surge, which started in October 2020 and waned by February 2021.