PARIS: The number of babies born in France in January fell by 13 percent, the biggest drop in 45 years which statisticians on Thursday linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 53 900 babies born in January 2021, down from 62,180 in January 2020, were conceived at the start of the first nationwide lockdown imposed by France in March 2020 to halt the spread of Covid-19.

National statistics agency INSEE said that the “context of a health crisis and huge uncertainty may have discouraged couples from procreating or prompted them to postpone their parenting project for several months”.

“Considerations relating to the possible transmission of the virus from the mother to the newborn could also have played a role,” INSEE added.