妊娠届５．１％減　１～１０月、コロナ影響も―厚労省

　厚生労働省は２４日、１～１０月に全国の自治体に提出された妊娠届の件数が７２万７２１９件で、前年同期間と比べ５．１％減だったと発表した。同省は新型コロナウイルスの影響で妊娠届の提出や、産み控えが広がっている可能性があるとして分析を進める考えだ。
　１０月までの間に最も減少割合が高かったのは、政府の緊急事態宣言が発出されていた５月で、前年同月比１７．６％減の６万７３２２件だった。８月以降は同１．０％減～６．６％減の間で推移しており、同省担当者は「自然減の範囲まで持ち直している傾向がある」としている。（2020/12/24-11:48）

The number of pregnancy notifications submitted to municipalities across Japan in January-October fell 5.1 pct from a year earlier to 727,219, the health ministry said Thursday.
   The ministry plans to analyze the background of the decrease, seeing that the coronavirus pandemic may have forced some couples to put off submitting such notifications or even having children.
   On a monthly basis, the number of pregnancy notifications in May, when a state of emergency over the virus was declared by the Japanese government, dropped 17.6 pct from a year before, the largest fall during the 10-month period through October.
   As the pace of year-on-year decline in the monthly total slowed to levels between 1.0 pct and 6.6 pct from August to October, a ministry official said, "We believe the number of pregnancies has recovered to come within the scope of natural declines."
   The ministry encourages couples having babies to submit notifications to local municipalities by the 11th week of pregnancy so that they can receive health care and other related services appropriately. One notification is submitted for each pregnancy, even for a multiple pregnancy.