In France, after a six-year decline, the number of births increased last year, which indicates that the number of conceptions increased in the periods following the general closures due to the coronavirus epidemic, the French statistics office (INSEE) indicated in a report published on Thursday.
Last year, 742,100 children were born in France, which represents an increase of 0.9 percent compared to 2020.
"This rise ended a six-year decline," the report emphasized.
Last year, the number of births decreased until the middle of February, which is the period before the birth of the first children conceived during the nationwide lockdown in spring 2020.
"The health crisis due to the coronavirus epidemic and the economic uncertainty may have encouraged couples to postpone their plans to have children," pointed out INSEE, which no longer experienced a similar, decreasing phenomenon nine months after the second closure in the fall of 2020.
In any case, the number of conceptions increased after the two general national closures - INSEE pointed out. As a result, the number of births increased in March and April 2021, and after August, and was "much higher" than in the same months of 2020 in every month until the end of the year.
In terms of giving birth, the increase was most significant among older women. The number of births increased by 3.5 percent for women between the ages of 30 and 34, 4.8 percent for those between the ages of 35 and 39, and 5.3 percent for those over 40. At the same time, the number of women giving birth decreased among those under 30 years of age.
In the first six months of this year, the number of births was higher than in the first half of last year, but lower than in the first six months of 2020. According to the French statistics office, it is difficult to say for now whether the increase in the number of births will continue in autumn, as it happened last year.
(Source: marmalade.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)