Posted: 05/11/09
While recent surveys show many couples are postponing having babies due to the poor economy or job loss, a recent Gallup survey shows many women have stopped using contraceptives because of cost, lack of insurance or lack of discount prescription plan. This could lead to an increase in the number of unplanned pregnancies. The survey, commissioned by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, polled more than 1,000 women of child-bearing age. Three percent of the women said they quit using birth control because they could not afford it; six percent of women using hormonal types of contraception, like the pill, said they stopped because they could not afford it; some women said they changed birth control methods because of cost; twenty percent of women said they are more concerned about an unintended pregnancy today than they were one year ago. These results have experts concerned about the impact of the recession on women's health.
About fifty percent of all pregnancies are unplanned. During good economic times many families are happy to welcome an unplanned addition, but when the economy is bad, an unintended pregnancy can be disastrous to some. Reliable forms of birth control are expensive and require a prescription causing women to spend time and money on doctor's office visits. Also, some discount prescription plans do not cover the costs of contraceptives.
Related Links
Chicago Tribune: Recession affecting women's health
