Epidemics and Fertility Change: Responses to Zika and COVID-19 in Singapore

Tan, Poh Lin, Joan Ryan & Jeremy Lim-Soh. Forthcoming. Epidemics and Fertility Change: Responses to Zika and COVID-19 in Singapore. Asian Population Studies.

46 Pages Posted: 29 Sep 2021 Last revised: 24 Jan 2024

See all articles by Poh Lin Tan

Poh Lin Tan

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Joan Ryan

University of Pennsylvania - Population Studies Center; University of Pennsylvania - School of Arts & Sciences

Jeremy Lim-Soh

Duke-NUS Medical School

Date Written: September 8, 2021

Abstract

Using longitudinal survey data collected from 407 married women at peak childbearing ages, we compared self-reported changes to fertility plans in response to the 2016-2017 Zika and 2020 COVID-19 epidemics in Singapore. The Zika outbreak led to intentions to delay but not reduce childbearing, whereas the COVID-19 pandemic led to both. At the same time, some women reported accelerating and increasing childbearing due to COVID-19, with more intending to bring forward births as the pandemic dragged on. Educational background was more predictive of changes in fertility plans during the pandemic than during the Zika epidemic, and women who had already delayed childbearing due to Zika were more likely to further adjust timing of childbearing due to COVID-19. We considered three possible explanations for changes to fertility plans: fear of infection, change in subjective wellbeing, and income loss, and find stronger effects of perceptions of the virus on downward revisions of fertility plans during the Zika epidemic but a larger role for stress and income loss during the pandemic, reflecting the latter’s wider economic and social impacts.

Note: Funding: This project was supported by funding from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore [R-603-000-190-133, R-603-000-347-115, R-603-000-237- 133].

Declaration of Interests: None to declare.

Patient Informed Consent Statement: The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the National University of Singapore (ethics approval number: N-17-048).

Keywords: COVID-19, Zika, fertility, fertility intentions, infection, fear, income loss, subjective wellbeing

JEL Classification: J13

Suggested Citation

Tan, Poh Lin and Ryan, Joan and Lim-Soh, Jeremy, Epidemics and Fertility Change: Responses to Zika and COVID-19 in Singapore (September 8, 2021). Tan, Poh Lin, Joan Ryan & Jeremy Lim-Soh. Forthcoming. Epidemics and Fertility Change: Responses to Zika and COVID-19 in Singapore. Asian Population Studies. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3919334 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3919334

Poh Lin Tan (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy ( email )

Singapore 117591
Singapore

Joan Ryan

University of Pennsylvania - Population Studies Center ( email )

PA
United States

University of Pennsylvania - School of Arts & Sciences ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Jeremy Lim-Soh

Duke-NUS Medical School ( email )

8 College Road
Singapore, 169857
Singapore

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