Bundles of Joy
Although Tylor and Jason Takacs were already expecting their firstborn child when COVID-19 made its U.S. debut in early 2020, the Cranberry Township couple said the pandemic wouldn't have discouraged their family planning.
Tylor, 24, and Jason, 25, welcomed their son, Elias Graham Takacs, on Sept. 17, a short time after Jason graduated from Chatham University's Physician Assistant Studies program and several months before Tylor would secure her “dream job” as a teacher at Mars Area School District.
“If we waited for the perfect time, we said we would never have kids,” Tylor said. “When we started trying in December (2019), we felt like it was the perfect time — without being a perfect time.”
She became pregnant right away, leading Elias to become one of Butler County's “pandemic babies.”
But is it valid to call babies born during this period pandemic babies? What do the facts indicate?
Preliminary data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows the number of births in Butler County slightly increased from 1,618 to 1,677 between 2019 and 2020, breaking from the national and statewide data that showed that instead of baby booms, there were baby “busts.”According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), preliminary data indicates that the number of births across the United States plummeted 4% between 2019 and 2020. The report released in May 2021 shows a drop of 3,747,540 to 3,605,201 births over the year.The report indicates the number of births has declined by an average of 2% for six consecutive years.Similarly in Pennsylvania, birth rates dropped significantly compared to previous years. Preliminary statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health show births across the state dropped from 134,247 in 2019 to 129,646 in 2020.The 3.43% decrease follows a less significant drop of 1.05% between 2018 and 2019.But the numbers in Butler tell a different story: one in which COVID-19 doesn't appear to have deterred families from having children.“That doesn't surprise me,” said Laurie Powell, certified nurse midwife at Butler Memorial Hospital, about the recent local birth rates.“There's been a steady decrease in birth rates over my career, but locally, lately, it's been a fairly steady rate. I can't say there's been any jump either way from my personal observation.”
Nora and Sean Caughey had recently moved from Portersville to Nashville, and learned they were expecting a baby boy when the pandemic arrived in the nation.“We both wanted kids, so we had got married, moved and figured it'd be a good time to start,” Nora said.The couple felt content and stable in their new home, but the pandemic quickly wreaked havoc on their plans.“My husband lost his job down there, so we were trying to live off of just one income, and where we were in Tennessee is a very expensive area to live,” Nora said. “We just decided it'd be best to move back and be around all of our families, so we had the support of them.”In spring 2020, the Caugheys, who reside in Cranberry Township, came back to Butler County, where Sean, 26, took a job that could support both him and his wife.Meanwhile, Nora, 25, settled into a rhythm of attending prenatal appointments alone. Precautions put in place amid the pandemic restricted Sean from attending most of her doctor appointments.Although closer to family, they remained limited in contact.“It was kind of scary because you didn't know,” Nora said. “Nobody knew what COVID was at the time. How was it going to affect babies that you're currently pregnant with? Would it affect them through nursing?“You didn't know what you were walking into at that time.”The Caugheys celebrated the birth of their son, Carson Thomas Caughey, on Nov. 19 at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.Nora considered herself lucky to have both Sean and her mother in the room for Carson's birth.“It was all a little extra stress, but I definitely would not take it back or change it or postpone it if I could,” Nora said.The Takacs of Cranberry Township and Crysta Heeter, 25, of Allegheny Township echoed Caughey's sentiments.“I remember the phone call where I was told (my husband) Travis couldn't come to the ultrasound,” Heeter said. “We had wanted to go through this together.”
It was disappointing for Heeter, but by Aug. 25, when Easton Joseph Heeter was born, it was her new normal.“It was my first pregnancy, so I didn't know any differently,” she said.Tylor Takacs had the ultrasound technician write down whether her baby was a boy or girl, so that she and her husband could later find out together through a gender reveal event.When Elias arrived, Tylor and Jason then limited which family members could meet their son and required masks.Since then, they've allowed more interaction, but it can be nerve-wracking, Tylor admitted.“It's definitely stressful. I might be somewhere and start thinking, 'Oh, there's so many people here,'” Takacs said.
During the past two decades, the number of annual births in Butler County has dropped by nearly 19%.Statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health reveal an 18.95% decrease in the number of births between 2020 and 2000. The county recorded 2069 births in 2000, but only 1,677 in 2020, according to recent preliminary data.The number of births would ping-pong between increases and decreases from year to year, but gradually the numbers trended downward in Butler County.Since 2000, the lowest recorded number of births per year was 1618 in 2019. The highest was 2,162 in 2001.“I've seen rates decreasing over time,” Powell of BHS said. “I suppose some of it has to do with women being more career-minded, delaying having children. Also, better birth control and more birth control options.”She also noted seeing dips in birth rates with downward economic turns of the past, specifically the Great Recession of 2008. Powell joined the team at BHS in 2003 after working at Sharon Regional Hospital.Data from the state's Department of Health backs her experience. The number of births in Butler County dropped from 1999 in 2008 to 1839 in 2009, and again decreased to 1777 in 2010.When births picked back up in 2011, the number never again surpassed the 2008 birth rate. In 2011, 1802 births were recorded. The peak number since then was 1857 in 2015.
Some experts predict that a baby boom related to the pandemic is yet to come. Others believe the numbers will continually decrease in the coming months.For now, Butler County births appear to remain steady. The Department of Health projects Butler County's birth rates to rise just slightly again from 2020's preliminary number of 1,677 to 1,708 births in 2021.For Tylor Takacs, growing her family further might happen down the road.“We would like to have three kids, but I always told Jason I don't want to change two kids' diapers at once,” she said.She looks forward to days when her friends grow their families too, but for now she thinks she and her husband are ahead of others' timelines.“I always hear that we're far ahead for our age, but now people I know are finally getting to the point of, 'Let's settle down, let's get married,'” Takacs said.
