They Say: Hard Times, More Pregnancies

The economy has caused its share of hardships for sure. It’s time throw accidental pregnancies onto the pile.

A new survey of more than 1,000 women that was commissioned by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found the recession has forced many women to give up prescription birth control due to expense or loss of health insurance.

This year, 20 percent of the women surveyed fear they’ll get pregnant.

From the LA Times:

“Even 3% is a big number if you look at the entire number of women in that age group,” said Dr. Iffath A. Hoskins, vice president of ACOG, who presented the survey results. “We’re deeply concerned about the effect of the economy on women’s healthcare.”

A member of Obama’s transition team, Dr. Rebekah Gee, an obstetrician and gynecologist, gets to the real problem. Birth control is expensive in the U.S. and it’s not easily accessible.

“Birth control is unacceptably expensive,” Gee said. Every dollar spent in the public health sector on contraceptives saves $US3 in childbirth and newborn healthcare costs for Medicaid. But not all insurance companies pay for contraceptives, and women spend money and time on doctor’s office visits to obtain prescriptions for the most reliable forms of birth control. “There are multiple costs associated with contraceptives that we don’t even think about,” she said.

What about you? Have you had to skip refills or switch to more affordable BC recently?

Photo: Nottinghamshire.gov.uk