Birth registrations in Buckinghamshire went up 60 per cent as the county saw a “Covid baby boom”.

When compared to December 2019 to June 2020, birth registrations in the county were up 60 per cent between December 2020 and June 2021.

That is according to data by insurance company Reassured, who analysed ONS births data and combined it with local register office figures sourced via freedom of information requests.

They found that Buckinghamshire came in at number 16 in the top 20 ‘Covid baby boom’ areas, which compared lockdown baby numbers with those pre-pandemic.

March 2021 was the peak for lockdown baby births with 58,409 across the UK – suggesting June 2020 was the month in which the most ‘Covid babies’ were conceived.

March 23, 2021, was also the peak ‘birthday’ overall - exactly nine months after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an easing of lockdown rules on June 23, 2020.

Late-March 2020, when the first national lockdown began, was also a peak time for conception, with a higher-than-normal birth rate reported nine months later in December 2020 and January 2021 (47,823 and 47,500 respectively).

Bucks Free Press:

The Vale of Glamorgan - which borders Bridgend, Cardiff, and Rhondda Cynon Ta - was the area that came out on top in the study, with birth registrations up 345 per cent year on year. However, it should be noted that on average there are fewer than 60 new-borns registered here each year.

Second on the list was Reading in our neighbouring county Berkshire, with birth registrations up 196 per cent.

Berkshire’s Wokingham also made the list at number 10, with registrations up 144 per cent.

A spokesman for Reassured said: “With all Covid-19 restrictions now lifted, we’re finally able to look back and explore any more positive outcomes of such a challenging time.

“Our analysis shows many took the big step of having a child in lockdown, with nearly a quarter of a million new-born babies registered by parents from December 2020 – nine months after the restrictive Covid-19 measures were put in place.

“We always recommend that new parents consider investing in insurance to ensure their children have financial protection if the worst should happen. After so many difficult months, a little bit of extra reassurance for the future can go a long way.”