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ABSTRACT
Objective To explore attitudes towards family formation and fertility awareness among Danish female healthcare professionals.
Methods We collected cross-sectional baseline data from a prospective cohort study of 863 women, ranging in age from 20 to 40 years, working at a hospital in Denmark. Information about participants’ intentions and attitudes towards family formation and fertility knowledge was gathered by means of a questionnaire.
Results Only 2% of the respondents did not want children. Most women believed that motherhood is important, and hoped to have two to three children. About half of the respondents intended to have their last child after the age of 35 years. The most important prerequisites for family formation included: living in a stable relationship, having completed one's studies, a sound financial situation, a job that can be kept when having children, access to public child day care, and the possibility of travelling. As many as 50% of women underrated the impact of a woman's age on fertility, and overestimated the success rates of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments.
Conclusions Many female healthcare professionals contemplated giving birth after the age of 35 years. Knowledge of fertility and ART success rates is needed to make well-informed decisions about when to have children.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Claudia Lampic for permitting us to use and adapt items from the Swedish Fertility Awareness Questionnaire.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.
Sources of funding: The study was funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, Copenhagen Graduate School of Health Science (CGSHS), and the Fertility Clinic at Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet.