Just when we thought this pandemic might bring us a bounty of bundles of joy, new statistics come out that all that alone time couples had during quarantine wasn't spent on family additions--health and money got in the way.
"People are so concerned about their health and the health of their families during the COVID pandemic they're also very concerned about the economy, so many Americans have lost jobs, those who are working in essential jobs and still being paid are finding that they're working a lot of hours and taking a lot of risk," says Dr. Julie Graves, family practice and public health physician with NURX an online digital health service that provides birth control and STD testing for about a quarter million patients in 30 states, including Ohio.
"We are seeing about a 50% increase in the requests for birth control about a 40% increase in requests for emergency contraception the morning after pill and we've been hearing from a lot of our patients that they want to keep a dose on hand at home because they don't want to go to a pharmacy if they need one and potentially risk exposure," Dr. Graves said.
Dr. Graves says the pandemic is full of too many unknowns and risks for pregnant women. Waiting might be a good option for many.
"Right now I don't think it's a good time to start a family. Hopefully in the coming months things will get better but I recommend people wait if they can."