Lupine Publishers | Potential Consequences of Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic on Birth Rates and Subsequent Demographics
Lupine Publishers | Interventions in Gynecology and Women's Healthcare Introduction The SARS-CoV 2 pandemic is now responsible for over 48 million infections and one million deaths worldwide. Pandemics impact population growth not only by excessive mortality, but also by preventing births. In previous pandemics occurring in the 20th and 21st centuries, a trend towards birth rate reduction was observed 9 months later (Figure 1). After the 1918-20 HIN1 influenza pandemic, birth rates dropped by 5 to 15% in comparison to average rates before the pandemic [1]. This drop was related to higher death rates in pregnant patients (case fatality rate of 27%), as well as miscarriages and stillbirths (increased by 0.4% and 2.2% respectively as compared to prior average rates) [1,2]. A rebound in birth rates, however, occurred 1-2 years after this decline [3]. Moreover, several studies have shown that children born in 1919, and thus exposed to the H1N1 virus in utero, experienced worse hea...