No extra bundles of joy, despite the vaccine

 

The fertility rate in the country has fallen to 1.8 babies per woman, compared to 4.9 per woman in the 1970s, and the numbers are still dropping. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 vaccination programme will do very little to help the declining birth rate in the country, even though it may see couples gaining confidence with their economic situation, a reproductive expert says.

Dr John Teo, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said the immunisation programme may result in slightly higher birth rates, but it would still take a few years for the numbers to recover to “pre-pandemic” levels.

“I would be surprised if birth rates rise exponentially (after the immunisation programme) as they were already on a gradual decline pre-pandemic,” he said.

Malaysia’s fertility rate has been falling over the last few decades. In 2019, it had fallen to the lowest level of 1.8 babies per woman. In the 1970s, 4.9 babies were produced per woman.

The repeated lockdowns had worsened the situation, causing delays in marriage plans and economic concerns. This had hindered couples from starting or expanding their family, Teo said.

However, the general decline in birth rates was not all negative, as this was mainly due to better gender equality with factors such as greater access to education and contraception for women.

“That’s a positive trend and we must tread with caution to not undo all the decades of achievements towards women empowerment,” he said.

“Simply encouraging people to have more children may not be the most prudent response. In fact, it may give rise to many untold consequences of unplanned pregnancies.”

He said moderately low birth rates could actually improve the overall standard of living of citizens, since families would not need to stretch their income to raise many children.

“Their children may also be able to access better quality education leading to higher-income jobs and productivity.”

Teo said that instead of working to increase the fertility rate, the government should plan its future policies with the ageing demographic in mind.

He said the declining birth rate meant that Malaysia is expected to become an ageing population by 2030.

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology head, Dr Mukhri Hamdan said there were no signs of a “baby boom” that was predicted during the first movement control order (MCO) in March 2020.

“We don’t really see it, at least not at the University Malaya Medical Centre. There isn’t any increase in births but that cannot be generalised to be the case across Malaysia,” he said.

“I think many families are trying to delay having more children when they are faced with the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 situation.”

Agreeing with Teo, he said there would be some increase in births after the vaccination rollout, but not much higher.

He said the movement restrictions coupled with economic stress have made it inconducive for couples to conceive over the last year, as many of them had to care for their children at home.

Economic stress has also led to domestic problems causing strains in some marriages, he said.

It was reported recently that South Korea’s fertility rate fell to the lowest in the world last year. This is seen to be a global trend as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on worldwide.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia has yet to publish data on national birth rates for 2020. - FMT