No baby boom in 2020 busts old theories

Though this sounds counter-intuitive, there seems to be no better family planning measure than to throw people together for prolonged periods. This new aphorism is borne out by increasing evidence that the expected baby boom as a result of the WFH pandemic is turning out to be a baby bust, a few new high-profile pandemic princelings notwithstanding.

That people did not do what they were predicted to do during periods of enforced proximity — expectations fuelled by myths about baby booms after blizzards and power outages —puts the focus back on a long-forgotten factor: the ‘contraceptive effects of additional chores and home schooling’, as one researcher put it.

Obviously, the key to effective population control in 2020 was to keep cooped-up people too busy and tired doing the above-mentioned activities in addition to their jobs, and worrying about future income prospects, to contemplate any further strenuous procreative exercise.


Similar information about dropping birth rates during the lockdowns emerging across western nations should make population researchers do a rethink about future policies on the issue. Although fertility data from fertile Asia during the lockdown may still turn out to be different.

While the West may well be concerned about a baby bust, India will, no doubt, be happy about this unexpected dividend.