Queensland couples bring pregnancy plans forward amid pandemic baby boom

Queensland couples who spent much of 2020 in lockdown or working from home have brought forward plans to start a family, with experts reporting a boom in demand for IVF and pregnancy support.

But the shift in priorities has led to some challenges, with a critical shortage of donor sperm and eggs for couples in need, and many women navigating unexpected hospital birth restrictions, including limits on the number of people who can support them during labour.

Pregnancy during a pandemic can be stressful but many Queenslanders have opted to start a family in 2020 and 2021.Credit: SMH

Lauren Williams, the clinical director of midwifery at private maternity group Hatch, said the south Brisbane service, which works with the Mater Hospital, recorded a lull in bookings that corresponded with the first months of 2020, when uncertainty about the growing pandemic was rife.

But by April, when people had been in lockdown and the pandemic forced a serious rethink of personal priorities, many people decided to bring forward plans to have children, Ms Williams said.

That meant people were falling pregnant in June and July last year, resulting in a 30 per cent spike in bookings for Hatch's midwifery and maternity services for March and April this year – expected to be its busiest months since opening five years ago.

"I think a lot of that boom is people making that conscious decision to start a family," Ms Williams said.

"I think couples have had great access to each other with lockdown and working at home, so whether there's some unplanned babies, I don't know, but there's never a bad time to have a baby.

"People have just thought, 'What is important?' And everyone keeps coming back to family."

Queensland's fertility clinics were shut down in the first lockdown in March, operating only to support couples who were midway through an IVF cycle, or performing emergency support.

But when fertility services were identified as an essential service and permitted to reopen fully in May, Queensland Fertility Group medical director Associate Professor Anusch Yazdani said demand skyrocketed.

"In May, after almost three months, we restarted, and it has gone absolutely crazy – in the nicest possible way," he said.

Demand for assisted reproductive services also spiked after the March-May lockdown in Queensland.Credit: AFR

"There has been a complete change around. In November, we were about 70 per cent above the preceding year. There has been an almost doubling of demand."

People were moving their family plans forward, Dr Yazdani said, and demand had jumped not just for assisted reproduction but for all of the obstetric and gynaecological sector.

"We thought in July when we restarted and everything had commenced fully after the lifting of the ban in May, we were looking at a bump of all of those people who were delayed," Dr Yazdani said.

"In fact, that's not the case, it's now a sustained increase."

Dr Yazdani noted that while spending time at home had forced people to rethink their priorities, overseas travel restrictions also meant people were putting their savings into falling pregnant rather than international holidays.

But while the pandemic has given some Queenslanders time and space to start their families, for others, it has been difficult.

Delays for older IVF clients has meant a great level of pressure and mental stress as they might feel time was slipping away for their chance at having a baby, Dr Yazdani said.

Two other key problems were that access to international assisted reproduction was impossible, thanks to the travel bans, and donors who would normally supply eggs or sperm for struggling couples had vanished.

"Our donors who are out there – people who would normally donate – in uncertain times, haven't wanted to donate," Dr Yazdani said.

"We've had to go back to waiting times to access things like donor sperm, and certainly donor eggs."

Dr Yazdani said he was pleading with people to contact fertility clinics if they had ever considered becoming an egg or sperm donor, as demand continued to rise and people were left waiting.

"I think donors are absolutely incredible people. To give someone that type of gift is incredible," he said.

"They are very, very special people and, for a whole lot of reasons, we have seen a reduction because people were worried about donation during a pandemic."

The reality of any possible post-pandemic birth-rate spike in Queensland will likely not be known for another year until the full data is available on 2020's birth rate.

With international travel off the agenda, more Queenslanders are prioritising having a family.Credit: iStock

In 2019, Queensland recorded 61,735 births, down 0.3 per cent from the year prior. Nationally, 305,832 babies were born – also a 0.3 per cent reduction.

Last year the Mater Mothers’ hospitals in South Brisbane and Redlands welcomed 10,455 babies – 20 fewer than 2019.

The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in 2019 reported 4864 births, and Gold Coast University Hospital 5199. Data for 2020 births was not immediately available for public hospitals.

For people who were preparing to give birth, Brisbane-based doula and birth planner Cheryl Sheriff said there needed to be a greater focus on emotional support and education around what to expect.

Hospitals and birth support services have necessarily reduced in-person contact and classes for people preparing to have a baby, with many now held remotely.

Pre-pandemic, Ms Sheriff said one in seven women had post-natal depression and one in 10 men, a ratio that she was concerned could have risen in the past year.

Despite the challenges, Ms Sheriff said many of her previous clients had contacted her for support as they were pregnant again.

But she said "the unknown" was a serious mental stress, particularly when it came to hospital restrictions on how many people they could have with them during labour. Such restrictions change frequently in response to COVID-19 outbreaks.

"It takes an emotional toll on women when they're at their most vulnerable. I'm sure it has a lot of long-term impacts, and a lot of impacts on women's mental health as well," she said.

Ms Sheriff is attempting to work through that issue with one hospital after being told she could not attend a woman's labour this week due to limitations imposed when Brisbane faced another potential COVID-19 outbreak.

"It's her second baby with me, and it's been distressing for everyone," she said.

"We've sent emails, we've asked for exemptions ... we don't have any control if the hospital overnight makes a change to the [health directions]."

Ms Williams said many of Hatch's clients who were pregnant for the second or third time found the hospital restrictions particularly challenging.

"You've got mums really upset, teary, every time you start to talk about it," she said, noting that many women had decided they didn't want to stay in hospital for long after giving birth, choosing to use private health options for stays at hotels or support at home instead.

She noted another group of new mothers who needed more attention were those from culturally diverse communities, with many cultures traditionally expecting the grandmother to fly to Australia and stay for months at a time to support the new mother.

Ms Williams said many of her clients who were permanent residents from other countries were finding pregnancy particularly difficult, with border restrictions meaning their own parents could not fly to Australia to support them.

"No one can control that because it's all borders and government requirements. They feel particularly helpless. That's going to be a challenge in the new year."