It's a concern Tiffany often hears, she leads free parent support groups and offers one-on-one counseling. Throughout the pandemic, demand for her services skyrocketed. "Much of what we talk about in this space, too, is a sense of safety and if weâre not feeling safe to become pregnant or safe to birth or safe to raise our children," she said. For much of 2020, many didnât feel safe. While the birth rate in the U.S. has been on a steady decline, in 2020, that rate dropped significantly with 4 percent fewer births than 2019, a record low for the U.S.