No boom for Kiwi babies during Covid lockdown

We actually had a decrease in the number registered in that quarter than in the previous year. Stats NZ insight analyst Rebekah Hennessey

A drop in births over the past quarter has confirmed that New Zealand did not see a post-lockdown baby boom.

Data released by Stats NZ this week has shown both a decline in births and deaths in the year that ended March 2021.

The year recorded 57,105 registered live births in New Zealand, down from 59,238 in the previous year.

When looking specifically at the March quarter — when babies conceived in lockdown would have been registered — there was also a drop from 14,538 to 14,070 births.

Stats NZ insight analyst Rebekah Hennessey said there has been no sign of a post-lockdown baby boom. “Most babies born in December and January are the ones that would have been conceived during the lockdown time. Most of them are registered in January and February and we actually had a decrease in the number registered in that quarter than in the previous year, or even several years before that.”

In spite of suggestions of a Covid lockdown baby boom, Hennessey said the findings fitted with previous data during times of crisis. “A lot of the research has shown that when there’s that economic uncertainty, you do get a decrease in the number of births. So we haven’t really been surprised but I was interested to see what it would do because you do hear a lot of stories either way.”

She said the drop in registered births over Covid was reflected in most other countries with published data.