The US’ birth rate has risen for the first time since 2014, reversing a previous negative trend viewed earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from the CDC.
The CDC’s provisional data for 2021 showed that more than 3.6 million babies were born last year–amounting to a 1% increase from 2020 levels.
The data is based on the CDC National Center for Health Statistics’ review of 99.94% of birth records in 2021.
Prior to 2021, US births had been declining by an average of some 2% for every year since 2014. A larger 4% plunge was observed between 2019 and 2020–the earlier half of the pandemic.
Cesarean deliveries, informally referred to as ‘c-section’ deliveries, jumped from 31.8% in 2020 to 32.1% in 2021.
The US’ preterm birth rate also rose 4%, to 10.48% in 2021, which is the highest rate recorded since 2007.
The small increase in US births in 2021 came after experts with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists projected that there would be a shortage of some 9,000 obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) by 2020, and grow to a shortage of some 22,000 OB/GYNs by 2050.
It also comes as the US is enduring a shortage in infant formula that has become a compounded issue due to panic buyers, recalls, and supply chain disruptions. The shortage prompted US President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act last week.