Knowledge about the impact of age on fertility: a brief review

Abstract

Delayed childbearing is currently a major challenge in reproductive medicine as increased age has an important impact on successful conception, both in natural and in assisted reproduction. There is a lack of knowledge about the impact of age on fertility, even in highly educated populations. A number of initiatives have been taken to increase fertility awareness. Health care providers have been encouraged to talk with patients about their reproductive life plan (RLP) for almost a decade based on recommendations from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. This concept has been explored successfully in Swedish contraception counselling. A growing number of online interventions aim to raise fertility awareness. These websites or interactive tools provide relevant information for individuals and couples as they consider whether they want children, when they should have them, and how many they may wish to have. These interventions are important, because research depicts that knowledge helps people in their decision-making process. With new fertility preservations such as egg freezing now available, additional education is needed to be sure that women and couples are well informed about the cost and low success rates of this intervention.

Keywords:

• Age
• awareness
• egg freezing
• knowledge
• fertility

Disclosure statement

Professor Tanja Tydén participated in one meeting at Bayer’s advisory board in Sweden in 2017. Ilse Delbaere and Sarah Verbiest have no declaration of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilse Delbaere

Ilse Delbaere, PhD, is a registered midwife, researcher and lecturer at VIVES University of Applied Sciences, Kortrijk, Belgium.

Sarah Verbiest

Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, MSW, MPH, is a public health social worker, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Jordan Institute for Families at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Tanja Tydén

Tanja Tydén, PhD, is a registered nurse midwife, and Senior Professor at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.