The pandemic brought many unexpected things, and this might top the list.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with the point.

Several Nordic countries that for decades had among the world's lowest birth rates

experienced a baby boom during the pandemic.

In the second half of 2021, Iceland saw an incredible 16.5% more births than usual.

Finland and Norway, 7% and 5% more births, respectively. Now, typically, a global

crisis results in lower fertility rates. In the U.S., for example, the birth rate dropped by 4%

during the pandemic, and in China it was 15%. For years, Nordic countries have offered generous

incentives to increase childbirth to little effect, as have other European nations that

didn't see a similar boom

during the pandemic. So money can't explain this. Well, perhaps for some, they realize what really

matters. One Icelandic mom of teenagers said it this way. We would just have conversations about

everything and nothing and have fun and laugh. I think that was the tipping point. I realized I

wasn't ready to be done with the mom thing. Yep, the mom thing and the dad

thing is a good thing. I'm John Stone Street.