The first signs of a rising pandemic have appeared in southern Finland. Birth rates increased slightly in the first months of this year.
The Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) is expected to have significantly more babies this spring than last year, says Aydin Tekay, Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Central Hospital, University of Helsinki.
Based on early pregnancy examinations, the number of births in Helsinki and the neighboring country of Espoo is expected to be about 10 percent higher in March than a year ago. Growth is expected throughout the HUS area, Tekay told STT.
“March is probably pretty busy”
"By the end of February, we can see if the forecast is correct, but March is likely to be quite busy," Tekay said.
In January, only slightly more babies were born at HUS than last year, but higher growth is forecast for this month.
Tekay estimates that interest in having children has increased last summer, so the number of births should increase in March-April.
However, the first wave of home stay recommendations last spring has not been directly reflected in pregnancy rates.
"Apparently, people were quite moderate and cautious in the first phase of the restrictions. If more insights had taken place then, it should have been reflected in the November-December figures," Tekay says.
Slightly more babies in southwestern Finland
According to Statistics Finland’s preliminary figures, more than 800 children were born in Finland in December than a year earlier. Preliminary data for January will be released later this month.
A small increase in the number of births so far has also been observed at Turku University Hospital.
Eeva Ekholm, the head of the hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department, says that the number of births was about the same in January as a year earlier, but that slightly more births are expected in February and March than in 2020.
"A small increase, but less than five percent," Ekholm predicts.
Slower in Hรคme
At the same time, fewer babies have recently been born in the Pirkanmaa Hospital District, which includes the southern city of Tampere.
"To date, there have been 20 fewer births than last year," said Kirsi Kuismanen, Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
However, the maturity dates of mothers in Tampere suggest a slight increase this spring. About half of the hospital district’s customers are from Tampere.
Kuismanen points out that this may be related to a busy period of infertility treatment at Tampere University Hospital last autumn due to cases last spring that were postponed due to coronavirus restrictions.
Source: The Nordic Page