U.S. births fell 4% in 2020, to their lowest level since 1979. This is the sixth consecutive year that the number of births has declined after an increase in 2014 cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr… 
(provisional) birth rate fell for almost every age group of women. e.g., rate for women aged 40–44 in 2020 was 11.8 births per 1,000 women, down 2% from 2019 (12.0). The rate for this age group had risen almost continuously from 1985 to 2019, by an average of 3% per year
The provisional CDC data on births by month over the past three years suggest that births in 2020 started to really drop off around July/August. If true, would imply that conceptions dropped off even before the pandemic began (or maybe more terminations, or something else?).
Phillip Levine & @kearney_melissa suggested I look at the quarterly data, which show slightly different patterns - but still, YoY drop-off in fertility begins pre-pandemic cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr…
tagging @phil_wellesley as well - didn't realize he was also on Twitter!
I've heard (anecdotally) about mini baby booms in certain groups -- including actors/dancers, for whom the temporary closure of their industry could have created a convenient time for a pregnancy. But don't have good data yet to know if these anecdotes are representative
Also seems possible that higher-income women, who were less affected financially by pandemic, viewed a period when it was more acceptable to work from home as convenient time for pregnancy. So, could see income divergence in fertility trends in past year. But don't have data yet
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