Coronavirus baby boom underway in the Netherlands

Since March, an average of 1,100 more babies have been born monthly compared to last year, an increase of 8 percent. The highest number of babies was born in the past quarter than any other quarter since 2010, according to healthcare news site Skipr.

The largest maternity care organization in the Netherlands, De Kraamvogel, predicts that the baby boom will continue. "Last year, we helped 17,000 women give birth. Now that's expected to be 20,000 babies."

Hospitals confirmed the influx to Skipr. "This month is also very busy. We have about 15 percent more medical deliveries than in the same month last year," said Spaarne Gasthuis, a hospital in Hoofddorp.

In March of this year, 14,850 babies were born in the Netherlands, according to national statistics office CBS. That is more than a thousand higher than in the previous year, an annual increase not seen in years. In March 2020, 13,600 babies were born.

The increase is continuing. In April, May and June there were between 14,470 and 14,750 babies born monthly. Last spring it was an average of 13,600.

"Many parents apparently see this coronavirus period as a good time to have children," chief sociologist Tanja Traag of the statistical office told Skipr.