Sexuality and Fertility in the Time of COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV. Recently, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared by the WHO as a virus pandemic disease. Many measures were conducted to tackle COVID-19 outbreak. The important one is social isolation that have been adopted all over the world which are the first one done as widely as that in modern history. Such measures have wide reaching consequences as reducing significantly the opportunity for casual sexual meetings, and increasing sexual intercourse for couples with stable sexual relationships, especially married ones. This leads us to the conclusion that within 9 months there will be an increase in births. This means that the global fertility will increase, especially in the developing countries whom have the highest rate of fertility.

How Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Affecting Our Sexualities? An Overview of the Current Media Narratives and Research Hypotheses

“…In domestic COVID-19 isolation, couples are less distracted, have more time for each other, and can indulge in love making more often during the day, which—planned or unplanned—will inevitably lead to a “coronavirus baby boom” in nine months. This is at least a description found in mass media contributions (Döring & Walter, 2020 ) and academic papers (Ait Addi et al, 2020 ) alike. The press often speak of “Love in the Time of Corona” (e.g., BBC, 2020 ) in allusion to the bestselling novel “Love in the Time of Cholera” (García Márquez, 1988 ) that tells the story of two lovers who, after a life-long separation, finally get together and use the cholera quarantine on a ship for undisturbed togetherness.…”

“…Researchers have also begun to address the sexuality-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comments on different sexuality-related aspects have been published in scientific journals (e.g., Ait Addi, Benksim, & Cherkaoui, 2020 ; Alpalhão & Filipe, 2020 ; Grubbs, 2020 ; Hall et al, 2020 ; Hough, 2020 ; Hussein, 2020 ; Joseph Davey, Bekker, Coates, & Myer, 2020 ; Mestre-Bach, Blycker, & Potenza, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ), as well as first empirical studies (e.g., Chen et al, 2020 ; Jacob et al, 2020 ; Li, Li, Xin, Wang, & Yang, 2020 ; Riley, Sully, Ahmed, & Biddlecom, 2020 ; Sanchez, Zlotorzynska, Rai, & Baral, 2020 ; Yuksel & Ozgor, 2020 ) and research reviews (e.g., Rasmussen, Smulian, Lednicky, Wen, & Jamieson, 2020 ). Scientific societies provide statements on their websites (e.g., ASHA, 2020 ; ISSM, 2020 ; ISSWSH, 2020 ).…”

COVID-19 pandemisi sırasında çocuk sahibi olma isteği: Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi örneği

“…In present study, the majority of 110 the participants regulated their sexual activity to have children. Other researchers have also reported an increase in the frequency of sexual intercourse among individuals who get the chance to spend more time with their partners at home (Ait- Addi et al, 2020;Döring, 2020).…”

“…Considering that this situation was frequently caused by the unwillingness of the partner, we may state that the participants had negative attitudes towards contraceptive methods due to sociocultural reasons. Similarly, researchers have concluded that cultural factors affect the acceptance and use of birth control in different ways and are one of the reasons for increasing fertility rates in the COVID-19 pandemic (Ait- Addi et al, 2020;Astratie, 2021). Hence, it is inevitable for unplanned and unwanted pregnancies to increase in pandemic periods.…”

Effects of SARS CoV-2, COVID-19, and its vaccines on male sexual health and reproduction: where do we stand?

“…Some have proposed that with lockdown restrictions and social isolation, there have been fewer opportunities for casual sexual meetings but increased frequency of sexual intercourse among couples in stable sexual relationships [ 50 ]. In a study of 967 young Chinese individuals, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures, 22% of participants reported a decrease in sexual desire; 41% experienced a decrease in the sexual intercourse frequency; 30% reported an increase in the frequency of masturbation; 20% reported a decrease in alcohol consumption before or during sexual activities, and 31% reported a deterioration in partner relationships during the pandemic [ 51 ].…”