PANDEMIC BABY BOOM BLUES IN INDONESIA
There could be 400,000 more births than usual next year
WITH her husband left jobless by the pandemic, the last thing Indonesian mother Juarsih needed was to get pregnant, but now she’s expecting a third child — one of many in the country anxiously preparing for a Covid-19-fuelled baby boom.
Authorities believe there could be 400,000 more births than usual next year as lockdowns keep couples at home and cut access to contraception, prompting fears of a rise in abortions and stunting of children in poorer families.
Juarsih, 41, said her birth control ran out as clinics closed or slashed hours and overwhelmed hospitals struggled to keep up with coronavirus infections.
The mother of two teenagers is too scared of Covid-19 to go out for a pregnancy check-up in her hometown Bandung in Java.
“I was shocked when I found out I was pregnant. I started feeling happy later although there’s still some sadness... I should be grateful, but this is happening at a difficult time.”
Contraception use has “dropped drastically” since the pandemic took hold across the archipelago in early March, said Hasto Wardoyo, head of the national population and family planning board.
Health authorities fear that increasing numbers of expectant parents will turn to abortions and push up maternal mortality rates.
“We’re also worried about stunting. Not all families can afford proper nutrition,” Hasto said.
With access to hospitals and contraceptives difficult, health authorities have been forced to get creative. One campaign saw health workers in government vehicles rolling through communities to remind people now wasn’t the time to have a baby.
This week, authorities launched a one-day blitz to give contraceptives to one million citizens.
Condoms are not popular in Indonesia, where some 98 per cent of contraceptive users are women, mainly of hormone injections and birth-control pills.
At a health clinic here on Monday, mother-of-two Rahma took the handouts, admitting that there was more romance in her household since the virus struck.
“My husband has spent a lot more time at home,” she said with a laugh. “But since I’m using this programme, I’m not worried about having more babies.”
Nearly 3,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Indonesia, according to an official tally, but independent researchers say the real toll could be several times higher.