COVID-19 Lockdowns May Impact Unwanted Pregnancy Rates, Experts Divided

In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, confinement has been imposed to limit the spread of the virus. This measure is not without consequences for those confined, especially among couples. Cases of unwanted pregnancies could see an increase during this period. An increase more noticeable among married women than single women, gynecologists have indicated, reports Medias24.

The confinement period could prove favorable to both an increase and a decrease in cases of unwanted pregnancies, said Chafik Chraibi, gynecologist obstetrician and president of the Moroccan Association for the Fight against Clandestine Abortion (AMLAC). To justify his position, the gynecologist explained that the decrease can be justified by the limitation of outings and the prohibition of extramarital sexual relations. A position shared by a gynecologist in Rabat, who indicated that unwanted pregnancies have fallen during confinement.

Confinement exposes married women to unwanted pregnancies. Chafiq Chraibi points out that confinement rhymes with an increase in the frequency of sexual intercourse between husbands and wives, which could lead to a boom in pregnancies after confinement, warns a gynecologist in Casablanca, also contacted by the same media.

Incestuous relationships are also suspected, as all family members are trapped in the same room due to confinement and pregnancies can result, observes Chafik Chraibi. He also indicated that very few women will take their contraception in health centers. Unwanted pregnancies could be at the root of this situation.