[ad_1]
In December, nine months have passed since the authorities closed the country and ordered us to be home more.
Although the time it takes to incubate a child has passed, it does not seem that more time at home has resulted in more citizens.
TV 2 has been in contact with almost every hospital in the country. Almost everyone says that there is nothing to suggest that more time at home has caused a baby boom in the country.
But some women TV 2 has spoken to say the pandemic led to the relationship developing faster with more time at home.
– Perfectly fitted
PREGNANT: Siok, who lives in Bærum, says that she doesn’t want to take maternity leave from her studies because she doesn’t want to wait any more years to start working life. Photo: Private
One of them, Siok Ong, says that digital education made the decision to expand the family easier.
– I am a student and I thought that the pandemic fit perfectly with the plan to have another child, says the 31-year-old to TV 2.
In April, her second child is born and her husband, Vegard Holstad, the fourth.
The reason I thought he was a good fit with a child until now was because he doesn’t have to drop out of his professional studies in psychology at the University of Oslo.
– Next semester is done digitally, so I can take the test from home with a small baby, he says.
Expected births in Norwegian hospitals
TV 2 has asked Norwegian hospitals how many births they expect in December, January, February and / or March 2021 compared to last year. They have responded:
Eastern Norway:
- Oslo University Hospital: Slight increase in December and January, but varies. Total decrease in recent years.
- Venstre Viken HF: at the same level as previous years
- Vestfold Hospital: same level as before
- Sykehuset Innlandet: Stable expected birth rates
Western Norway:
Nordland, Troms and Finnmark:
- Northern Norwegian university hospital: small increase
- Nordland Hospital: stable
All hospitals expecting a small increase say it is too early to say if it is a trend. They say the numbers vary from month to month.
Siok is from Singapore and moved to Norway in 2016. She has to resume her education as it is not approved in Norway. Her goal is to finish her studies so she can start working, so she doesn’t want to postpone her studies to take maternity leave.
– The longer I postpone my studies, the longer it takes to start working, he says.
Less stress
Not least, when she had her son Olav (2), she said goodbye to her studies.
MORE DIGITAL: The fact that studies have been done more digitally has been a plus, says Siok. Here with his two-year-old son Olav. Photo: Private
– It was demanding because there was a lot of attendance. But now I imagine it will be easier, says Siok, who is in her third year of studies.
She hopes that next fall’s studies will also be done more digitally, so that she can take care of her newborn before he can start kindergarten in 2022.
– I think maybe life has been less stressful because of the pandemic and that we have forgotten what life is like with so many children, says Siok.
Believe in the boom
Someone who thought that more time at home would lead to more babies was the Norwegian Women’s Sanitation Association. In March, they encouraged their members to knit socks for New World citizens because they thought there was a baby boom.
“Let us prepare for the ‘winter of joy’ as a result of the crown situation in spring 2020,” they write.
The Indonesian government also estimates a baby boom in early 2021, according to the New York Times. Combined with the advice to stay home and a lack of contraception, they estimate 370,000 to 500,000 more births early next year than normal.
… but not in Norway
Unlike in Indonesia, more time at home does not seem to lead to more children in Norway. For ten years, fertility rates have been declining.
Professor Trude Lappegård from the University of Oslo believes that the pandemic will lead to a further decline in numbers.
The fertility rate in Norway in 2019 was 1.53.
– We do not know if we have reached the end of the fertility figures, but I think that the pandemic may have a short-term negative effect on the figures, says Lappegård.
RESEARCHER: Professor Trude Lappegård investigates fertility in Norway. She thinks that now it will go lower. Photo: Silje Pileberg / UiO
Historically, fertility rates have declined after global crises, such as the 2008 financial crisis.
In the corona pandemic, some industries have been hit hard. It will likely affect fertility numbers, Lappegård believes.
Too early
It is too early to say what will happen to the long-term numbers, whether they flatten, go up or down. Lappegård says it depends on how long the pandemic lasts and how hard it hits.
Basically, it is the financial security that young people want before choosing to have children, explains Lappegård.
When you later lose your job, or find yourself in an unpredictable situation, it can lead you to choose to quit or postpone having children.
Lappegård will soon begin investigating fertility figures in relation to the pandemic.
She says it’s too early to say if the March shutdown has had any consequences, even though it’s been nine months.
– We’ll probably find out after spring 2021, he says.
Norwegian hospitals, which TV 2 asked about expected birth rates, also emphasize that it is too early to conclude, although more people see a small increase. They also emphasize that the trend is that fertility is declining.
– What is due (editor’s note of an increase in the number of expected births) is speculation, but it is quite common for the birth rate to vary from month to month, says the director of the Women’s Clinic , Susanne Albrechtsen, in Helse Bergen in an email to TV 2.
