For no obvious reasons, last year witnessed over 2,000 more births than in 2020, according to Sundhedsdatastyrelsen figures.
The final total of 63,710 was the highest figure since 2010. Around 92 percent of the births followed full-term pregnancies.
“We can’t tell from the numbers why the birth rate has increased, but it comes after several years of a declining rate,” remarked Mette Keis Jepsen, a department head at Sundhedsdatastyrelsen.
“It will be interesting to see whether the trend continues or whether this is a one-off result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Decrease in mortality
The infant mortality rate, meanwhile, dipped a little. The survival rate among full-term babies was 99.9 percent.
Meanwhile the survival rate among extremely pre-term babies (those born before the 29th week of pregnancy) improved from 60.5 to 67.4 percent.
The figures for 2019-21 also confirm that the newborns are getting larger, and that the number of low-weight babies is decreasing.
The decline in low birth weights can be partly attributed to fewer pregnant women smoking. A woman who smokes during her pregnancy is twice as likely to have a low weight baby compared to one who doesn’t.
