EVALUATION OF WOMEN'S HEALTH ANXIETY AND CHILDBEARING DESIRE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to investigate the effect of women's health anxiety level on their desire to have children during the epidemic period. Method: The Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) and the Childbearing Motivation Scale (CMS) were used to collect data from women between the ages of 18-50. Results: Among the women participants of the study, 94.5% expressed negative impacts due to the pandemic, and 76.6% expressed a lack of desire to conceive during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. HAI scores were higher for women who reported being significantly affected by COVID-19, those who had contracted the COVID-19 infection, those who attributed their lack of desire for children to economic reasons, and those with chronic diseases, compared to others (p=0.00, p=0.046, p=0.01, and p=0.00 respectively). It was determined that women with chronic diseases, whose spouses were unemployed, who did not desire children during the COVID-19 period, who attributed their lack of desire to economic reasons and COVID-19, who had a monthly household income below the minimum wage, and who were highly knowledgeable about COVID-19, had statistically significantly higher average scores in the sub-dimensions of childbearing motivation and negative childbearing motivation (p=0.048, p=0.01, p=0.00, p=0.00, p=0.00, and p=0.009, respectively). A moderately positive, statistically significant relationship was found between the par-ticipants' mean CMS scores and their HAI scores (r = 0.323, p < 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the presence of a chronic disease, being affected by COVID-19, having contracted COVID-19, and the reasons for not wanting to have children contribute to an increase in women's health anxiety. The majority of women participants in the study expressed a reluctance to have children during the COVID-19 period, attributing this to economic reasons, already having a large number of children, and concerns related to COVID-19. It is assessed that the health anxiety levels of these women adversely impact their inclination towards childbearing.