Births in France, which had plunged in December 2020 and January 2021, nine months after the first confinement, returned in July to their 2020 level, INSEE said in a provisional estimate published Thursday, September 2.
France counted 2,120 births on average per day in July 2021, as in July 2020.
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“
In July, the month of the year when the most children are generally born, births returned to their level of last year.
These babies were for the most part conceived in October 2020, before the second confinement,
”observes the statistical institute.
Postponed parental plans
Nine months after the start (March 2020) of the first confinement imposed to stop the Covid pandemic, births had fallen sharply in France: -7% of newborns in December 2020 compared to December 2019, -13% in January 2021 compared to January 2020. The "
context of health crisis and high uncertainty may have discouraged couples from procreating, encourage them to postpone their parenting plans for several months,
" explains INSEE.
Fears of "
possible transmission of the virus from mother to newborn may also play
".
Read alsoNatality disrupted by Covid-19: the drop in births eases in February
Medically assisted procreation centers were closed during this first confinement in spring 2020, notes INSEE. "
We observe a rise in births in February, nine months after the end of the first confinement, compared to January
", it is noted in the publication, possible sign that the parental plans had been postponed during the first confinement.
“
This upturn was confirmed in March, then again in April, the first months when the babies who were born were all conceived after the confinement of spring 2020. It could be the sign of a gradual resumption of parenting projects in exit from the first confinement,
”according to INSEE. In May (-2% compared to May 2020) and June (-1%), births fell again slightly, seeming to join the downward trend in births observed in recent years.
