Baby boom in Bradenton? Area may be exception to U.S. decline in births during pandemic
Early data suggest that the Bradenton-Sarasota area may not have experienced the same decline in birthrate experienced in many parts of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the past four months, the time when babies conceived during the pandemic started arriving, the Bradenton area reported more or the same number of births as a year earlier in three of those months, and a decline in only one, December.
In February, there were 281 births, up from a year earlier when there were 229 births, according to figures from them Manatee County Health Department. Births in February 2021 were also up from the same month in 2019, when there were 255 births.
“That is really interesting. Our numbers are down five to 10 percent for any given month,” said Alyssa Brown, who serves as chief of OB/GYN at Tampa General Hospital and teaches at the University of South Florida.
“There is some data that says about one-third of women have reduced the number of children they want,” Brown said.
The pandemic has affected the birthrate like nothing else Brown has seen in her career.
Figures provided by Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center also support a different direction for the local birthrate than seen elsewhere.
In February, Lakewood Ranch saw a 120 percent increase in the number of babies born: 55, compared to 25 a year earlier.
Manatee Memorial welcomed 141 new babies in February, compared to 133 a year earlier.
“Based on our births data, at Manatee Memorial Hospital and at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, we experienced a slight uptick in new babies being born at the end of 2020 versus 2019,” Kevin DiLallo, chief executive officer of Manatee Healthcare System in Bradenton, said in a statement to the Herald.
“Manatee Healthcare System hospitals have had the pleasure of caring for the special needs of expectant women and their babies for over 68 years. Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center are the only hospitals in Manatee County that provide Labor and Delivery services including a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We have precautions in place to ensure the safety of patients and staff including ‘universal masking.’ Universal masking means that everyone who enters and is within our healthcare facility will wear a mask,” DiLallo said.
Asked about a forecast on the number of births anticipated moving into 2021, DiLallo said he was unable to offer an opinion.
The situation was similar in Sarasota. In February, Sarasota Memorial Hospital reported 338 births, up from the same month a year earlier when there were 292 births.
“Births so far are pretty much the same for this time of year, compared to last year,” Kim Savage, spokeswoman for SMH said in an email.
The number of babies born at SMH in November and December were essentially the same year to year, although in January, the number fell by 11 to 312. Overall from November to February, SMH delivered 1,341 babies, compared to 1,305 a year earlier.
The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization in Washington, D.C., has forecast that the United States will see 300,000-500,000 fewer births in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The national birthrate should return to pre-coronavirus levels with the wider distribution of vaccines as confidence grows in a healthier environment, Brown said.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
