Conception Preferences during COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 lockdowns imposed new challenges to couples who were planning to conceive. In this research paper, we aimed to study the perceptions of women in Jordan during the pandemic regarding fertility behavior, the desire to use assisted reproductive technology (ART) and the awareness and beliefs of potential risks related to conception. Methods: A validated online-based questionnaire was distributed to women from April–May 2020, Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS version 22 and R software (2020); p values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The total number of participants was 814 women, with 78.2% of the participants (58.7% fertile and 76.6% infertile) believing that pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic could be risky. Among them, 16% and 40%, respectively, were trying to conceive during the pandemic, and 97.4% and 89.9%, respectively, were not willing to use ART if needed during the pandemic. Young, nulliparous women who were married for less than one year were significantly associated with the desire to conceive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: This study concluded that the fertility behavior of women in Jordan changed during the pandemic, and their desire for natural conception and for using ART declined, as they believed that there were potential risks related to conceiving during the pandemic. However, the effect was greater among the general fertile population than the infertile.

Fertility decision of Iranian women during the COVID-19 pandemic and home quarantine: A cross-sectional study in Iran

“…The results of the present study showed that almost half of the studied women postponed their pregnancy to after the pandemic, which is consistent with Chu et al in China, who found that fertility intention of 47.7% of women was affected by COVID-19 outbreak ( Chu et al, 2022 ). Results of a study by Albeitawi et al on 814 fertile and infertile women in Jordan showed that 58.7% of fertile and 76.6% of infertile women believed that pregnancy during pandemic is dangerous ( Albeitawi et al, 2022 ), which is consistent with our results. Furthermore, Kahn et al who evaluated 1,179 mothers of young children during COVID-19 pandemic found that around 40% of these women postponed their pregnancy to after the pandemic ( Kahn et al, 2021 ) which is in line with our study.…”

“…In addition to mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of everyday life including couples’ fertility decisions. For example, according to Albeitawi et al, around 80% of Jordanian women believed that pregnancy during the pandemic is dangerous, and infertile women did not like to use assisted reproductive technologies for pregnancy ( Albeitawi et al, 2022 ). Also, Ghaznavi et al found that the number of births in Japan declined during the pandemic ( Ghaznavi et al, 2022 ).…”

Fertility Declines Near the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence of the 2022 Birth Declines in Germany and Sweden

“…The impact of economic crises as triggered by the global pandemic, and the perception of economic uncertainty during the course of the pandemic, is another mechanism that could relate to reduced fertility intentions and childbearing behaviour. A negative relation between employment instability, aggregate unemployment, and fertility is well known (Adsera, 2011 ; Albeitawi et al, 2022 ). The Great Recession in Europe during 2007–2008 was negatively related to subsequent fertility trends, however, with considerable differences by age, birth parity, and regions in Europe (Goldstein et al, 2013 ).…”