Community Corner
No COVID Baby Boom: Massachusetts Saw Nearly 10% Decline In December Births, Data Shows
In total there were 4,948 December births reported in Massachusetts, compared to 5,468 in December 2019.
MASSACHUSETTS — Provisional birth count data from 29 state health departments show about a 7.3% decline in births nationwide in December 2020, nine months after the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic. The decline was even steeper in Massachusetts, with data obtained by CBS News showing a 9.5% decline in December births compared to the previous year.
In total there were 4,948 December births reported in Massachusetts, compared to 5,468 in December 2019. For the entire year of 2020, states reported on average about a 4.4% decline in births compared to 2019. According to CBS News, every state reported fewer births except New Hampshire, which saw just four more births in 2020 compared to the prior year.