Some Indian cities med the most of it during the lockdown, this March. Delivering from pharmacies is clearly no chi… https://t.co/zqU2UVP4ml — Dunzo (@DunzoIt) 1586870864000

NEW DELHI: The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed has changed the life of people, putting them under immense stress. While the economy is all set to take a major hit, human behaviour is also likely to witness some change due to social distancing The Narendra Modi government imposed a nationwide 40-day lockdown from March 25 to May 3 in two phases to fight COVID-19. While some people have resisted the lockdown forcing the government to quarantine them, most are following social distancing and stay at home norms set by the government.With anxiety and boredom reigning supreme for many, some believe the lockdown may see a spurt in the birth of children nine months later. In a lighter vein, some on Twitter and Facebook have said that “there will be a minor baby boom in nine months. and then in 2033, we shall witness the rise of ‘quaranteens’”.Several psychiatrists and doctors agree.Dunzo, a delivery app based at Bengaluru, reveals the stats of items that it delivered the most in March in some cities. “The number 1 items delivered from pharmacies - pregnancy kit in Bengaluru and Pune, hand wash in Chennai and Jaipur, condoms in Mumbai and i-pill in Hyderabad,” the tweet said.On a more serious note, an NGO filed a PIL in the Delhi high court last week on the rise in incidents of “intimate terrorism” - such as domestic violence, child abuse and unwanted pregnancies.All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties and Social Justice in its PIL said, “Apart from the public health crisis due to COVID-19, looms large another public health and social crisis such as domestic violence and child abuse, also referred to as ‘intimate terrorism’ by many.”It further said, “Escalating data suggests that domestic abuse or violence is acting like an opportunistic infection, flourishing in the conditions created by the pandemic. Needless to mention that the health impacts of this violence particularly, intimate partner or domestic violence, on women and children are significant. It results in injuries, serious physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems, including sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and unplanned pregnancies.”Talking to timesofindia.com, cardiologist Dr KK Aggarwal, former president of Indian Medical Association (IMA), said a baby boom is very much expected. However, he said making babies at this juncture should be avoided due to several reasons.He said, “Naturally, baby boom could happen. Theoretically, it could take place. However, consciously, it is not the right time because very soon we will witness ‘coranxiety’.”Dr KK Aggarwal said planning a baby is not advisable at this juncture because the coming second and third trimesters might be troublesome and full of anxiety for the couple expecting a child. “Novel coronavirus-induced anxiety, which I call coranxiety, will set in because of social and emotional distancing and financial problems.”He said the next pandemic that the world could witness after COVID-19 would be incidents of child abuse, domestic violence and suicide due to anxiety, depression and personal disorder.“Several parts of the world will witness Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for a year after fighting COVID-19. A significant population of the US had passed through PTSD for a year after the 9/11 terror attack. We in India are anticipating the same situation after COVID-19 in some sections of the population,” he said.Titled ‘Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks - A Review of the Literature Among Highly Exposed Populations’, the US National Library of Medicine published several studies conducted on the issue.One of them conducted a national random digit-dial telephone survey of 560 adults and found that within the first week after 9/11, 44 per cent of participants reported substantial stress reactions.“Taken together, these studies presented initial evidence that the 9/11 attacks, whether proliferated by media images or by concerns about safety in times of war and terrorism, were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms in the general US population,” the study said.Maanwi Malik Sharma, psychologist and holistic healer, also felt there was a strong possibility of more pregnanicies during the lockdown. “I guess a baby boom will definitely happen,” she said. “Maybe a Badhai Ho (Bollywood movie in which an older couple get pregnant) scenario can also happen. But the chances of something like that are quite less,” Sharma said.She said people make babies when they are happy. But in case of the current lockdown in the wake of COVID-19, there is a fear of the unknown. This may lead to more incidents of domestic violence and child abuse than baby boom. People would face economic crunch which, in turn, would lead to depression.Maanwi said one goes through three phases in such incidents. It starts with the denial phase. India has already crossed. It was the phase when COVID-19 had affected only China and Indians were in a denial mode. The next stage is the flight fright or crying stage. “We are passing through this phase. The last is the mental shift stage when we accept the situation,” she said.Maanwi was of the view that the situation arising out of COVID-19 is different from the 9/11 terror attack or any other pandemic outbreak in the past. People then had access to entertainment and their jobs were secure, she added.Dr Keyur Sheth, a gynaecologist based in Ahmedabad, was less optimistic about sudden spurt in deliveries nine months later. He said a baby boom might happen but it would not be as marked as it would have been 15-20 years ago.He said, “In present day India, with a good level of education and a decent understanding of conception, any population boom might not be as marked as it would have been 15-20 years ago if COVID-19 had happened then. Besides, the means of whiling away time and getting entertained have also become easily accessible and affordable to the remotest areas. 24x7 TV, art, cookery, social media, conference calling, Facetime, Zoom meetings and the likes keep people positively occupied.”Dr Keyur Sheth further said that 10-15 per cent extra time at the disposal of couples could lead to procreation. However, the presence of small children at home or other such factors may be natural preventions.“All in all there might not be much change in the ‘productivity index’ by December. I think we must be more concerned about psychological issues and precipitation of psychiatric disease,” he added.However, Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist and director of the department of mental health and behavioural sciences in a private hospital, did not think any baby boom will take place because of COVID-19.“Everything depends upon the kind of relationship partners share. While differences between some partners will increase, bonds will get stronger in others. It depends upon the couples and their dynamics.”Dr Parikh was of the opinion that intimacy between partners takes a hit when a couple is struggling to deal with anxiety. “And establish more physical relationships to kill boredom depends upon the dynamics between the partners,” he said.