MNHQ here: Watch out for the Covid baby boom!

[AnnaCMumsnet]

Hello

We’ve been crunching some data here at MNHQ and it’s pointing to a Covid baby boom.

The number of Mners posting on the Conception board started outstripping 2019 levels by the end of March 2020, and by June was twice as high as the same period in 2019.

It’s happening on the Pregnancy board too. By April the number of MNers posting was around 57% higher than it had been in April 2019, and remained high until early autumn. (There was also an increase in posts on Food and Recipes, Property and Coronavirus - so as well as babies expect some delicious meals and DIY projects to come out of 2020 too).

We’ve also seen a spike in mentions of ‘BFP’ in May, peaking in June, and remaining at relatively high levels ever since.

When we asked you why, one third of Mumsnet users who are currently pregnant told us that the pandemic played a part in their decision to conceive. 30% say the pandemic gave them more time at home with their partner; 30% say it prompted them to reassess what was important to them; and 33% said it made them feel life was too short to put off important decisions.

Did lockdown make you think about TTC?

MNHQ

Interesting!

Initially Covid actually delayed our plans of TTC. Mainly due to the unknown fears re the health risks and both of our job and financial security.

By the time the end of summer came we'd realised that a strong family unit is so important and we couldnt wait to grow ours with a new member so started to try again. ... Or maybe we were just fed up of it only being the two of us in the house all the time! 😂

I’m not sure you can conclude that there will be a baby boom from these data. It could also just mean that people who were TTC had more time at home and less access to other support networks and so people started posting on MN who wouldn’t have done otherwise if it weren’t for the pandemic.

I don’t think there is an actual statistical difference, nothing has been mentioned in the media.

I’m not sure how you can be reading in to the figures so positively:

one third of Mumsnet users who are currently pregnant told us that the pandemic played a part in their decision to conceive. 30% say the pandemic gave them more time at home with their partner; 30% say it prompted them to reassess what was important to them; and 33% said it made them feel life was too short to put off important decisions.

So 2/3rds said the pandemic had nothing to do with their decision to conceive, 70% said they had the same or less time at home with partner, 70% said the pandemic didn’t make them reassess their priorities. Etc etc.

Could be just a general traffic increase due to people being stuck at home and using the internet more.

This reads like something your would find in the DM or the sun

30% said it played a part, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have gotten pregnant otherwise. Also, what about the people who aren’t pregnant and aren’t in these statistics (and weren’t included in the survey?)? It might be the case that the number of those who put off having children in part because of the pandemic is much higher.

Plus all the other problems with the survey and conclusions that others have already pointed out!

Definitely agree that people who were ttc had more time and that plays the biggest role. I've seen some NHS data that suggested 12 week scan appointments from the summer were lower than previous years, so maybe no so much a baby boom after all.

I was TTC before all this. I paused between March-June and it was really getting to me that I wasn't having any luck TTC previously.

BFP in October, not down to change in hours as I'm still working the exact same as before this.

MNHQ - Have you factored in that people were probably spending more time online due to lockdown, so were more likely to post about their conception efforts or pregnancy?

I'm a midwife. Your findings aren't backed up by the numbers of women booking. Which if anything I would say has gone down.

I posted on the TTC boards once or twice but they aren’t for me, and as I’m still TTC obviously I’m not part of the surveyed individuals. The only role the pandemic played in our TTC timeline was to move it forward a few months as our holiday got cancelled. We considered delaying when the pandemic hit due to concerns about impacts on pregnant women and healthcare resources but given the vaccine is out and we’re still TTC, I’m glad we didn’t delay.

If the figures arent backed up by booking in appointment numbers as per pp, are there not just more people posting than usual as people are looking for alternatives to face to face support they would have pre-pandemic and instead turning to online communities? Suggesting that rather than the pattern meaning a baby boom is due, there is just an increase in mothers in need of online community support provided by mumsnet due to a reduction in their usual support network or an increase in other stresses in their lives?

The pandemic played a role with us. Hadn't planned on ttc until now, but wedding postponned till 2022, so we started in April instead. Now baby due April 2021 😍