Pandemic Baby Boom Turned Out to Be Bust Despite Lockdown

Early in the pandemic, some speculated that couples isolated together during lockdowns might produce a year-end baby boom. The opposite occurred.

Five U.S. states have provided monthly birth data through December -- Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii and Ohio -- and their reports show large declines nine months after Covid-19 was declared a national emergency. More than 50,000 fewer births occurred in these states in 2020 compared with a year earlier.