Norway Reports Births Are Up Again
As per IPH's 'provisional' numbers, some 500 children more were born in 2023
Translation, emphases, and bottom lines mine; source, dated 22 Feb. 2024.
Increase in Births 2023
The number of births in 2023 increased slightly, with over 500 more babies born than the previous year. This is according to preliminary figures from the Medical Birth Registry. The increase was greatest in the north.
Norway’s Institute of Public Health (IPH) has now published the preliminary Norwegian birth figures for 2023. While the first quarter of 2023 showed a decline in births compared with previous years, birth rates were higher for the rest of the year. In 2023, a total of 52,551 people were born, which is over 500 more children than in 2022 (a 1% increase).
Biggest increase in the north
Some of the regional health authorities experienced larger increases than others.
‘As many as 11 out of 14 maternity institutions in Helse Nord experienced an increase in the number of births, and Bodø stood out with an 11% increase compared to the 2022 figures’, says Ferenc Macsali, senior consultant and researcher in the Medical Birth Registry at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
In the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority as a whole, there was a 5.6% increase in births. This means that 232 more Northerners were born in 2023 compared with the previous year. A total of 4,401 babies were born in Helse Nord.
Fewer births at Ullevål in Oslo
The South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority saw an increase in births of 1.2%, while the Western Norway and Central Norway Regional Health Authorities saw decreases of 0.8 and 0.2%, respectively.
The number of births in the Oslo region has risen, while at the same time there has been a shift between the maternity institutions in the Oslo area. While Ullevål had 400 fewer births in 2023 compared with the previous year, birth rates are increasing for all neighbouring hospitals, including those in Drammen, Bærum, Rikshospitalet, Akershus and Østfold.
‘The closure of the ABC unit at Ullevål Hospital in 2023 may have had an impact on where women in the Oslo region gave birth in 2023’, explains Macsali.
Women are older when they have children
In 2023, the average age of women in Norway having their first child remained stable from the previous year at 30.2 years, while the average age of women having their second or third child rose from 32.7 years in 2022 to 33.0 years in 2023. Ten years ago, the corresponding figures for Norway were 28.7 years for those having their first child and 32.0 years for multiple births.
Preliminary figures
The Medical Birth Registry at NIPH now publishes preliminary birth figures every quarter, and these are statistics on selected information about births that require little further quality assurance by the registry. The final birth figures for the 2023 cohort will be published on 23 April 2024 together with quality-assured information about pregnancy, birth and the child. Information on the health of the mother and child will be published on 23 April 2024.
Bottom Lines
Is this the trend reversal of declines in live births after 2020 or a temporary upswing? We will find out in the coming years, but one thing seems clear: among public health officialdom, no-one has expressed a willingness to discuss the elephant in the room:
Good-bye, reality, it was nice to know you; welcome, ‘reality’.
P.S.: it could be an artefact of Ukrainian refugees, as few wish to to leave now. Time will tell.