A population-based survey on family intentions and fertility awareness in women and men in the United Kingdom and Denmark

Abstract

BackgroundAcross several European countries family formation is increasingly postponed. The aims of the study were to investigate the desire for family building and fertility awareness in the UK and Denmark.MethodsA population-based internet survey was used among women (n = 1,000) and men (n = 237) from the UK (40%) and Denmark (60%). Data covered socio-demographics, family formation, and awareness of female age-related fertility. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis for studying associations between low fertility awareness and desired family formation.ResultsThe majority of all participants desired two or three children. Two-thirds of the childless participants desired a first child at 30+ years, and one-fifth of the women and one-third of the men desired a last child at age 40. Overall, 83% of women and 73% of men were aware that female fertility starts to decline around 25–30 years. Men had significantly lower fertility awareness. Women who underestimated the impact of age on female fertility were significantly more likely to have a desire or attempted their first child at a higher age.ConclusionEven though the majority were aware of the age-related decrease in female fertility, most desired having children at an age when female fertility has declined. Women who were not sufficiently aware of the impact of advanced age were significantly more likely to have their first child at a higher age. There is a need for developing educational programs for women and men in order to increase the population’s knowledge of fertility and risk factors for infertility.

Fertility awareness and attitudes towards parenthood among Danish university college students

“…Some studies found that men overall had less knowledge about fertility [22, 25, 34], which is in line with the conclusion from Bunting et al, who investigated several knowledge areas including basics facts about infertility and indicators for reduced fertility [23]. In our study the participants generally lacked knowledge on fertility issues, but there were no substantial differences between the two genders.…”

“…Adding to this concern, the majority of participants stated wanting two children, but the current reproduction rate in Denmark is 1.69 [18] showing a potential disparity between what is desired and the actual outcome. The interaction between fertility knowledge and family intentions is not well documented, but a recent European study found that women, who under-estimated the impact of age on fertility, desired to have their first child at a higher age [34]. More studies are needed to confirm these results, but the necessity of fertility education on the ‘optimal’ timing of parenthood seems evident.…”

Fertility Intentions and Awareness of Reproductive Aging among Final-Year Nigerian University Students

“…Male respondents provided responses that significantly overestimated female fecundity especially at advanced ages, compared to the female respondents. This agrees with results of other studies which showed that males had lower fertility knowledge compared to females [35] [48]. A large proportion of both genders didn't know the accurate female fertile period within a menstrual cycle.…”

Investigating knowledge levels of university students about infertility

“…This finding of this investigation differs from that of previous studies performed with university students. In many studies knowledge levels of female students were reportedly higher [13,15,19] , however Sørensen et al [20] reported lack of any difference in knowledge levels between male, and female students. The difference favouring male students, was thought to be related to increased sexual experience, and higher frequency of sexual intercourse among male students.…”