"The future is unstable": Exploring changing fertility intentions in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Europe
demography
fertility/infertility
pregnancy intention
qualitative research methods
Journal
Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health
ISSN: 1931-2393
Titre abrégé: Perspect Sex Reprod Health
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101140654
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
12 Dec 2023
12 Dec 2023
Historique:
medline:
12
12
2023
pubmed:
12
12
2023
entrez:
12
12
2023
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
To understand whether reproductive decision-making among United Kingdom (UK) respondents had changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and, if so, why COVID-19 had led them to change their intentions. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in January 2021. We asked survey participants if their fertility intentions had changed and to rate how aspects of their life had changed during COVID-19. We also included an open-ended question and asked participants to explain in their own words how COVID-19 had influenced their reproductive decision-making. We used descriptive and regression analyses to explore the quantitative data and thematically analyzed written responses. Nine percent (n = 70) of our 789 UK respondents reported a change in fertility intention after the start of the pandemic. Changes in both pro-natal and anti-natal directions made the overall change in intentions small: there was a 2% increase across the sample in not intending a child between the two time points. Only increased financial insecurity was predictive of changing intentions. Responses to the open-ended question (n = 103) listed health concerns, indirect costs of the pandemic, and changing work-life priorities as reasons for changing their intentions. While studies conducted at the beginning of the pandemic found that fertility intentions became more anti-natal, we found little overall change in fertility intentions in January 2021. Our findings of small pro-natal and anti-natal changes in fertility intentions align with emerging UK birth rate data for 2021, which show minimal change in the total fertility rate in response to the pandemic.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : Economic and Social Research Council
Organisme : National Science Centre (Poland)
ID : 2018/30/E/HS4/00449
Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of University of Ottawa.
Références
Cohen PN. Baby bust: Falling fertility in US counties is associated with COVID-19 prevalence and mobility reductions, 1-12. 2021. Accessed 22 Nov, 2022. doi:10.31235/osf.io/qwxz3 https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/qwxz3/
Sobotka T, Jasilioniene A, Galarza AA, Zeman K, Nemeth L, Jdanov D. Baby bust in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? First results from the new STFF data series. SocArXiv. 2021. doi:10.31235/OSF.IO/MVY62 https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/mvy62/
Aassve A, Cavalli N, Mencarini L, Plach S, Livi BM. The COVID-19 pandemic and human fertility birth trends in response to the pandemic will vary according to socioeconomic conditions. Science. 2020;369(6502):370-371. doi:10.1101/2020.04.29.20084335
Comolli CL. The fertility response to the great recession in europe and the United States: structural economic conditions and perceived economic uncertainty. Demogr Res. 2017;36(1):1549-1600. doi:10.4054/DEMRES.2017.36.51
Mamelund SE. Fertility fluctuations in times of war and pandemic influenza. J Infect Dis. 2012;206(1):140-141. doi:10.1093/INFDIS/JIS315
Berrington A, Ellison J, Kuang B, Vasireddy S, Kulu H. Scenario-based fertility projections incorporating impacts of COVID-19. Popul Space Place. 2022;28(2):e2546. Accessed 22 Apr 2022. doi:10.1002/PSP.2546
Rotkirch A. The wish for a child. Vienna yearbook of population. Research. 2020;18:49-61. doi:10.3109/01674828309104799
Lindberg LD, VandeVusse A, Mueller J, Kirstein M. Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the 2020 Guttmacher Survey of Reproductive Health Experiences. New York. 2020. doi:10.1363/2020.31482 https://www.guttmacher.org/report/early-impacts-covid-19-pandemic-findings-2020-guttmacher-survey-reproductive-health
Luppi F, Arpino B, Rosina A. The impact of COVID-19 on fertility plans in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Demogr Res. 2020;43. Accessed 25 Jan 2021:1399-1412. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.47. https://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol43/47/
Miller WB, Rodgers JL, Pasta DJ. Fertility motivations of youth predict later fertility outcomes: a prospective analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Data. Biodemography Soc Biol. 2010;56(1):1-23. doi:10.1080/19485561003709131
Miller WB, Severy L, Pasta D. A framework for modelling fertility motivation in couples. Popul Stud. 2004;58(2):193-205. doi:10.1080/0032472042000213712
World Bank Data Catalog. Accessed 27 Jan 2023 https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-development-indicators/
Shkolnikov VM, Andreev EM, Houle R, Vaupel JW. The concentration of reproduction in cohorts of women in Europe and the United States. Popul Dev Rev. 2007;33(1):67-100. Accessed 12 Aug 2020. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00159.x
Heap KL, Berrington A, Ingham R. Understanding the decline in under-18 conception rates throughout England's local authorities between 1998 and 2017. Health Place. 2020;66:102467. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102467
Office for National Statistics. Childbearing for women born in different years, England and Wales: 2019. 2020 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/fertility-analysis/childbearing-for-women-born-in-different-years/2013/stb-cohort-fertility-2013.html
Office for National Statistics. Comparisons of all-cause mortality between European countries and regions: data up to week ending 3 September 2021, 1-31. 2021.
Harari D, Keep M. Coronavirus: Economic Impact. House of Commons Library, December, 1-75. 2021.
Cribb J, Salisbury A. Employment and the end of the furlough scheme. IFS Green Budget. Institute for Fiscal Studies. 2021 https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15644
McNamara CL, McKee M, Stuckler D. Precarious employment and health in the context of COVID-19: a rapid scoping umbrella review. Eur J Public Health. 2021;31(Supplement_4):iv40-iv49. doi:10.1093/EURPUB/CKAB159
Philipov D, Bernardi L. Concepts and operationalisation of reproductive decisions implementation in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Comp Popul Stud. 2011;36(2-3):531-572. doi:10.4232/10.CPoS-2011-14en
Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Smith WG. Does gender influence online survey participation?: A record-linkage analysis of University Faculty Online Survey Response Behavior. 2008.
Lindberg LD, Mueller J, Kirstein M, VandeVusse A. The Continuing Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: findings from the 2021 Guttmacher Survey of Reproductive Health Experiences. 2021. doi:10.1363/2020.31482
Malicka I, Mynarska M, Świderska J. Perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and childbearing intentions in Poland. J Fam Res. 2021;33(3):674-702. doi:10.20377/jfr-666
Andersen M, Bryan S, Slusky D. COVID-19 surgical abortion restriction did not reduce visits to abortion clinics. IZA Institute of Labor Economics Discussion Paper Series, 1-32. 2020. Accessed Dec 31, 2021 www.iza.org
Aassve A, Le Moglie M, Mencarini L. Trust and fertility in uncertain times. Popul Stud. 2021;75(1):19-36. doi:10.1080/00324728.2020.1742927
Comolli CL, Vignoli D. Spreading uncertainty, shrinking birth rates: a natural experiment for Italy. Eur Sociol Rev. 2021;37(4):555-570. doi:10.1093/esr/jcab001
Sobotka T, Jasilioniene A, Galarza AA, Zeman K, Nemeth L, Jdanov D. Booms, busts and trend reversals? Shifts in births and fertility rates across the highly developed countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Presentation at the Pandemic Babies Conference, December. 2021.
National Records of Scotland. Vital Events Reference Tables 2021, Report. 2022 www.nrscotland.gov.uk
Office for National Statistics. Births in England and Wales 2021. 2022.
Voicu M, Bădoi D. Fertility and the COVID-19 crisis: do gender roles really matter? Eur Soc. 2020;23:S199-S214. doi:10.1080/14616696.2020.1822537
Xue B, McMunn A. Gender differences in unpaid care work and psychological distress in the UK COVID-19 lockdown Tran TD, editor. PloS One. 2021;16(3):e0247959. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247959
Hall KS, Samari G, Garbers S, et al. Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response. Lancet. 2020;395(10231):1175-1177. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30801-1
Wenham C, Smith J, Morgan R. COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak. Lancet. 2020;395(10227):846-848. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30526-2