COVID-19 Will Likely Lead to Fewer Births | The Atlantic

In a recent Atlantic article, CEGA affiliated professor Tom Vogl shared his insights into the COVID-19 “baby bust” and why the pandemic may lead to lower US birth rates for years to come:

“By now, the pandemic has disrupted Americans’ daily lives for nearly as long as a baby typically spends in the womb. This means that many children conceived in mid-March are weeks away from joining us in this disorienting new world, but just as notable are the children who won’t be joining us—the babies who would have been born were it not for the ongoing economic and public-health crises. These missing births, which could end up numbering in the hundreds of thousands in the U.S., will make up what’s been called the ‘COVID baby bust’….

‘Even for women or couples who will eventually make up for their lost conceptions, the catch-up will not happen all at once, because the resolution of the crisis will be gradual,’ says Tom Vogl, a development economist at UC San Diego. Like the pandemic itself, the upcoming baby bust likely won’t end at a distinct moment in time, but rather little by little.”

Source: COVID-19 Will Likely Lead to Fewer Births – The Atlantic