Why U.S. births are declining and how it could affect Colorado long-term COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Months into the Covid-19 pandemic, with couples locked up together in quarantine, some were predicting a “baby boom” in 2021. It looks more like the U.S. will see a “baby bust” instead and it could affect all of us. Brookings Institute, a D.C. non-profit that researches societal issues, says in one of its latest reports that the U.S. will likely see 300,000 to 500,000 fewer births in the U.S. in 2021. It’s a prediction that may have weight. ModernFertility.com surveyed 4,000 people, 30 percent said they were changing their family planning because of Covid-19. Of those who said they were changing their plans, almost half (48 percent) decided to delay having kids, and 26 percent became unsure about having kids at all.