Evaluation of the effect of having A COVID-19 infection on young adults desire to have a child

The Covid-19 virus is considered the most serious epidemic disease that humanity has experienced in the last century, with more than six hundred and seventy million defined cases and six million seven hundred thousand deaths spread around the world at the end of two and a half years since March 2020, when it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. It is a global health emergency with consequences such as rapid transmission, high death rates, lack of effective treatments and major quarantine measures, causing major disruptions to the health system and changing the pregnancy planning behavior of adults. In our study, it was aimed to investigate the change in the desire to have a pregnancy plan / childbearing in young individuals between the ages of 18-35 with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic or after the Covid-19 infection. A total of 236 individuals were included in our study as two separate groups, who had the Covid-19 infection and who had never had it. The data were collected via e-survey using the personal information form prepared by the researcher and the coronavirus anxiety scale. In our study, it was found that half of the participants were not affected by their pregnancy plan due to infection or pandemic. It was determined that most of the participants used contraception due to family planning. It was determined that most of the participants did not change the protection method used after the Covid-19 infection and continued with the same method. It was determined that most of the participants did not change the protection method used after the Covid-19 infection and continued with the same method. It was determined that the participants thought that after the Covid-19 infection, the state of having children was affected in men, while the state of having children in women was not affected. It was determined that the participants obtained information about the effect of the Covid-19 infection on the state of having children from the people around them. It was determined that those who did not have the Covid-19 vaccine themselves or their spouses thought that the Covid-19 infection would have an effect on male reproductive functions. In our study, it was determined that the thought of pregnancy was affected by the people whose spouses had the Covid-19 vaccine. Our findings have been discussed with the support of the literature, and it sheds light on researchers by examining the idea of individuals having a pregnancy plan during the pandemic period and the effect of Covid-19 infection on reproductive functions. Considering the limitations of the study, face-to-face studies with a higher number of participants and multicenter studies are needed to generalize to society. Keywords: Covid-19, fertility, infertility, pregnancy plan, Covid-19 vaccine, parents