Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on November 17, 2005
Human Reproduction 2006 21(2):558-564; doi:10.1093/humrep/dei367
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fertility awareness, intentions concerning childbearing, and attitudes towards parenthood among female and male academics
1 Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala Science Park, S-751 83 Uppsala and 2 Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Academic Hospital, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 10B, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail: claudia.lampic{at}pubcare.uu.se
BACKGROUND: Postponing childbirth is becoming increasingly common in Western countries, especially among groups with higher education qualifications. It is relatively unknown to what extent women and men are aware of the age-related decline in female fertility. The aim was to investigate university students’ intentions and attitudes to future parenthood and their awareness regarding female fertility. METHODS: Postal survey of a randomly selected sample of 222 female (74% response) and 179 male (60% response) university students. RESULTS: Female and male university students in Sweden have largely positive attitudes towards parenthood and want to have children. Women, in comparison to men, were significantly more concerned about problems related to combining work and children. Both women and men had overly optimistic perceptions of women’s chances of becoming pregnant. About half of women intended to have children after age 35 years and were not sufficiently aware of the age-related decline of female fecundity in the late 30s. CONCLUSIONS: University students plan to have children at ages when female fertility is decreased without being sufficiently aware of the age-related decline in fertility. This increases the risk of involuntary infertility in this group, which is alarming in view of the great importance they put on parenthood.
Key words: attitudes/fertility/parenting/universities
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  The ESHRE Capri Workshop Group Female contraception over 40 Hum. Reprod. Update, November 1, 2009; 15(6): 599 - 612. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Nyboe Andersen, E. Carlsen, and A. Loft Trends in the use of intracytoplasmatic sperm injection marked variability between countries Hum. Reprod. Update, November 1, 2008; 14(6): 593 - 604. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. Bunting and J. Boivin Knowledge about infertility risk factors, fertility myths and illusory benefits of healthy habits in young people Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1858 - 1864. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Boivin, L. Bunting, J. A. Collins, and K. G. Nygren International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: potential need and demand for infertility medical care Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2007; 22(6): 1506 - 1512. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Bunting and J. Boivin Decision-making about seeking medical advice in an internet sample of women trying to get pregnant Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2007; 22(6): 1662 - 1668. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G.F. Homan, M. Davies, and R. Norman The impact of lifestyle factors on reproductive performance in the general population and those undergoing infertility treatment: a review Hum. Reprod. Update, May 1, 2007; 13(3): 209 - 223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Minerva BMJ, February 18, 2006; 332(7538): 432 - 432. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|