There were just as many children born in the north Icelandic town of Húsavík in June and July—nine months after the banking collapse last fall—as during the first five months of this year. Births in Reykjavík are also approaching an all-time high.
Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“The children who are being born now are those who were conceived shortly after the crisis hit,” Húsavík midwife Hulda Skúladóttir pointed out to Morgunbladid, however adding, “There are often peaks. Last year there was a peak [in childbirths] in spring. Now it is June and July so these could be crisis babies.”
So far this year, close to 30 babies have been born in Húsavík, which has a population of approximately 2,300. Skúladóttir said she isn’t sure whether more women are pregnant in Húsavík this year than in 2008.
“I don’t know whether the number [of childbirths] will exceed the past three years when births increased here as in other parts of the country,” Skúladóttir said. Countrywide, more childbirths are predicted than in 2009.
Click here to read more about the baby boom.
