Despite spending more time at home due to the pandemic, the US is in the midst of a baby bust, not a baby boom. US births have been falling for nearly a decade and 2019 saw the fewest births in 35 years, but the final numbers for 2020 could slip even lower. An estimated 300,000 fewer babies are expected in 2021, according to a study by Brookings Institution think tank.
It comes as the pandemic has created a turbulent labour market that has disproportionately hurt working women.
Last year, women slightly outnumbered men in the workforce, but their labour market participation has now dropped to 57%, the lowest level since 1988, according to the National Women's Law Center.
Surveys revealed that many couples are delaying pregnancies, having sex less often and want fewer children because of the pandemic and its economic costs, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
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