Experts call for fertility warning drive

WIDESPREAD concern among fertility experts that women are leaving it too late to have children has led to calls for a national fertility awareness campaign, beginning in the classroom.

The support for an awareness-raising campaign comes at a time when births to first-time mothers are at a 50-year high and the average age of mothers has risen to 31.4.

Experts in reproductive medicine – who took part in an Irish Examiner investigation of treatments, costs and success rates at fertility clinics around the country – agree women need to be made aware they have a finite number of eggs and that technology has not advanced enough to make age irrelevant when it comes to having children.

Dr Edgar Mocanu, consultant-in-charge at the Human Assisted Reproduction Unit in the Rotunda Hospital, said the education system should include male and female reproduction classes.

“It is important for school children to understand that fertility is a finite opportunity and one should consider having a family young rather than when too late. Career is important but should be developed in parallel to achieving the desired fertility potential.”

Dr John Waterstone, medical director of the Cork Fertility Centre, said the “big message” that needed to get across was that age and fertility are inextricably linked.

“They [women] don’t realise just how important the age thing is and they think ‘I feel young, I look young, I exercise, I’m in good shape’, but they don’t realise that the ageing of the ovaries is inexorable, it doesn’t matter if you look young or feel young, this is beyond your control.”

Dr Osman Shamoun, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Clane Fertility Clinic said the “school biology class” offered a good opportunity to build awareness about fertility potential.

“I think work is a priority more than fertility, and maybe there is a lack of awareness that age is a very, very important factor. If you say to a woman ‘you’re born with your eggs’ most don’t know that fact, and when you are 39, your eggs are 39 and the longer they are there, the more difficult they are to fertilise.”

Dr Declan Egan, medical director of the Galway Fertility Unit, said the problem of deferred motherhood is getting worse. “People are coming later and later. It’s getting married late, it’s leaving it until the last minute hoping they’ll pull it off without having to come near a fertility clinic.”

Dr Egan said he believes fertility awareness should be incorporated into schools’ safe sex education programmes and should target both genders as sperm count also worsens with age.

Dr Waterstone said a fertility awareness campaign could follow the format of other Health Service Executive (HSE) public health campaigns.

“Something along the lines of the approach taken in their drink awareness campaigns, or the campaign highlighting the need to use contraception.

“That kind of advertising would never have happened 10 years ago, now we have these health messages on national TV and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t do the same for reproduction.”

In a statement, the HSE said: “Information with respect to fertility has been included in the TRUST pack – which is a resource for teachers of Relationship and Sexuality Education at senior cycle – it is a resource that has been developed in partnership with Department of Education and Science, HSE and Crisis Pregnancy Programme.”