Jakarta (AFP)

With her husband unemployed because of the pandemic, the last thing Juarsih wanted was to have a third child. But she got pregnant in the middle of a health crisis like many Indonesians and the country is preparing for a baby boom caused by the pandemic.

The family planning agency in Indonesia - which has the fourth largest population in the world - is expecting an additional 400,000 births due to containment measures that have restricted access to contraception.

Juarsih, a 41-year-old Indonesian, ran out of contraceptives when hospitals were overwhelmed by coronavirus patients and when clinics closed or cut their hours.

The mother of two teenagers is now afraid to go for a pregnancy check-up at a hospital in Bandung, on the island of Java.

"I was in shock when I realized I was pregnant," she says.

"I started to feel happy later, but there is always a feeling of sadness (...) it comes at a difficult time."

The use of contraception has "dropped drastically" since the beginning of the epidemic in the archipelago of Southeast Asia in March, Hasto Wardoyo, head of the Indonesian family planning service and the population (BKKBN).

Health officials fear a jump in abortions or maternal mortality.

"We are also worried (about the risk) of malnutrition, not all families can afford to feed children well," he said.

- Mass campaign -

With access to hospitals becoming difficult, the authorities had to find creative solutions to promote birth control.

Medical teams have driven around villages to warn that this is not the right time to start a baby.

"You can have sex. You can get married. But don't get pregnant," they proclaimed through a loudspeaker.

"Dads, do you control yourself (...) no sex without contraception".

Indonesia implemented a family planning policy as early as the Suharto dictatorship some 50 years ago, which has greatly reduced fertility rates. There are now 2.34 children per woman in the country of nearly 270 million people.

This week, a large-scale operation was launched to distribute contraceptives to one million Indonesians in one day.

Condoms remain unpopular in Indonesia, and 98% of contraceptive users are women, through hormonal injections or birth control pills.

- A "baby corona" -

At a clinic in Jakarta on Monday, Rahma, a mother of two, concedes that confinement has provided more opportunities for sex.

"My husband has spent a lot of time at home," she jokes.

"But since I use this program, I don't have to worry about getting pregnant."

However, many Indonesians fear being infected by going to the hospital. Ratna Dewi Nur Amalia decided instead to monitor her menstrual cycle to avoid getting pregnant.

"I wanted to go to the gynecologist for my contraceptives, but the epidemic has started," said the 39-year-old woman.

And now "I'm too afraid to go to a hospital".

There are more than 57,000 people infected with the coronavirus and nearly 3,000 dead in Indonesia according to official statistics, which are very underestimated due to a limited number of tests.

Budget cuts and decentralization in the archipelago already made the task of family planning complicated.

"Now, health workers are too busy with coronavirus patients and birth control is relegated to the background," said Kusmana, who heads the family planning agency in West Java.

For Arie Novarina and her husband, a couple who had been trying to have a child for two years, confinement was rather a chance.

The 38-year-old Indonesian woman is pregnant with her first child.

"It may be because we were less tired, healthier, and we had a good time together at home," said the employee of a public company.

"With my husband, we joke saying that we are going to have a + baby corona +!".

© 2020 AFP