Seasonality of Birth Rate before and during COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany

The study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the seasonality of births in Germany. The global COVID-19 pandemic began in December 2019, spread worldwide in 2020, and caused severe social and economic disruption worldwide. In Germany, the outbreak began in spring 2020. In March, the government started various restrictions. In most highly developed countries, the fertility rates fell during the pandemic. Little is known about how the pandemic affects the frequency of births throughout the year, which exhibits seasonal variation in almost all human populations. However, the causes of this variation still need to be fully understood. On the other hand, the incidence rate for COVID-19 fluctuated throughout the year and was higher in autumn and winter than in spring and summer—at least in European countries. While significant changes in living conditions, like the COVID-19 pandemic, impact not only birth rates but also fertility seasonality, it's crucial to emphasize that more data on the fertility of different populations and living conditions are needed to establish causality between births and seasons than were available for the current study.