the number of births on the rise in France, a deconfinement effect?

2021 has been a busy year for maternity hospitals as 742,100 babies were born that year. For the first time since 2015, the number of births has increased. A study by INSEE indicates that the Covid-19 epidemic is the cause of this jump in the birth rate. Nine months after the first confinement, births have multiplied. “We were happy when he came and it’s a message of hope, especially after confinement.“, testifies a mother, whose son was born during this period.

After the second confinement, an increase in births was again observed. This increase concerns women over 30, while the youngest have postponed their plans for a child. “There may also have been, due to the confinements, young couples (…) who were geographically separated“, supposes Isabelle Robert-Bobée, head of the demographic surveys and studies division at Insee. According to the first figures for the year 2022, the number of births could break records.