The government has advised the British public to remain in doors where possible in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the nation to work from home where possible and has ordered the closure of pubs, cinemas and restaurants, with warnings of 'stricter measures' being introduced if people don't adhere to rules around social distancing.
With many of us now spending our days at home, researchers are predicting that we could experience a baby boom in December. That's right - nine months from now we could see an increase in newborns as a result of self-isolating with partners.
Mother.ly reports that there's a link between staying at home with your other half and getting pregnant.
Back in 2008, a US study found that birth rates increased following events like blackouts and snowstorms, with head researcher Richard Evans saying: '[The fertility effect] is that with low-level, low severity events, we found an uptick in births...it sets the table for romance.'
One midwife, Diana Spalding, told the site: 'It's probably a few factors: The first being that people who may operate on different schedules, and therefore not see each other as often as they'd like to, are suddenly spending a lot more time together—more time together means more opportunities to make a baby.
'And the second is that during periods of stress and uncertainty, we tend to seek out comfort and connection with people we love.
'One of the many ways to connect with someone is, of course, to have sex with them.'
Does this mean we could see a baby boom in December?
According to NJ.com, global events do impact the conception rates. They say: 'A study done in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City terrorist bombing found an increase in births nine months after the tragedy.
'Researchers speculated it could have been because people living near the bombing site sensed their own mortality and naturally responded by trying to strengthen their own families.'
Interesting...
