Covid fears led to significant decline in births across Europe last year

The duration of lockdowns was the only factor associated with the decline in live births in January 2021, compared with January 2019 and January 2018, researchers found.

Fears of a Covid-19 health crisis during the first wave of the pandemic likely led to a significant drop in babies being born across Europe.

The continent saw a 14% drop in the number of babies being born in January 2021 compared with live births in the same month in previous years, researchers have said.