Launch of a global fertility education poster campaign

We are having children later than ever in every country.  In many countries the age women have their first child is over 30. There are many reasons women are delaying having children, including education, careers travelling, lifestyle.  But a major problem is finding a partner who is ready. The data from women who freeze their eggs shows that the majority are ready to have a child but they do not have a suitable partner.

We are seeing global decreases in the total fertility rate which is the number of children born per woman. We used to say a family had 2.4 kids, but this has changed.  In the 50s, the world fertility rate was 4.96 children per woman but now it is 2.52 and in the EU it is only 1.58. Some countries have fertility rates as low as 1.3 children per woman including Italy, Greece, Spain, Poland, Cyprus and the lowest is Portugal.

We are also seeing an increase in the number of women who are childless, some not by choice. In the UK, 20% of women do not have children. We have done a study on childless women and found 16% wanted children but did not try, mainly because they did not have a partner. The remainder tried to get pregnant and many went through unsuccessful fertility treatment. Reading their stories is heartbreaking.

We know that not everyone understands female fertility decline. The chance of getting pregnant under age 30 is about 20% each month but this drops to about 5% at age 40. When the male partner is over the age of 45 there is increased risk of miscarriage and certain conditions in the offspring, such as autism. Pregnancy is only possible from about five days before ovulation through to the day of ovulation – the fertile window.  Most people get pregnant within a year of trying. But for those that do not, they need to get help sooner rather than later. For women over 35, they should see a health professional if they have not got pregnant after 6 months.

Women in their 30s may be feeling terrific. They exercise, eat well, and may feel that their fertility will be fine as they feel fine. And in the press we are bombarded with images of celebrities having children in their late 40s and early 50s. Many of these celebrities have had expensive IVF treatment. If you use a donor egg, almost every woman can get pregnant at any age, but using your own egg, IVF cannot work miracles. The chance of having a baby after one IVF attempt is around 30% for women aged under 35, but only about 10% for women aged between 40 and 44 and over 45 it’s almost zero.

Evolution has not kept up with feminism. Female fertility decline is  real and we want men and women to be aware so they can make informed choices. We do not want to see an increase in childlessness by circumstance.

Six countries have started to work on fertility education. UK, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal. A group of experts from these countries have got together to work on a global fertility education campaign. We are starting with the launch of a fertility education poster which will launched in the EU Parliament on 5th November during the meeting ‘My Fertility, My Future, My Family’. The meeting has been organised by Fertility Europe during their annual European Fertility Week (this year 4-10 November).  Fertility Europe has gathered medical representatives, educators, patients and politicians to work together for EU regulation on education. I will be talking at the event on the need for fertility education.

The call  for universal education is part of Fertility Europe’s Call to Action launched last year – to encourage politicians to sign their support for equal access to infertility treatment and education in the EU.

The poster campaign aims to increase awareness of the need for fertility education and ultimately we would like every country to have a fertility education web site and provide fertility education in schools and beyond. Six countries currently have active fertility education websites: Australia (www.yourfertility.org.au), UK (www.fertilityed.uk), Denmark (www.reprounion.eu), Portugal (https://www.fpce.up.pt/saudereprodutiva/), Sweden (http://www.reproduktivlivsplan.se/ ) and Canada (www.myfertilitychoices.com).

The idea for the poster was developed during the recent Preconception Health and Care Conference in Copenhagen. I got together with Soren Ziebe, founder of the Danish initiative and Karin Hammarberg who was one of the people responsible for the wonderful Australian web site (www.yourfertility.org.au). I have been watching the success of the menopause poster campaign, run by Elizabeth Ellis #knowyourmenopause, which is now going to be up in every GP surgery in Wales. I thought it would be a great idea to run a global fertility education poster campaign. Sarah Johnson from Clearblue was also speaking at the conference in Copenhagen and I am thrilled that Clearblue agreed to sponsor the poster and have been amazing at getting it ready in a very short time.

Since the Copenhagen conference, I got together those interested in fertility education globally, including Clearblue, Fertility Europe, ESHRE, Fertility Fest, Global Women Connected, UK Fertility Education Initiative, British Fertility Society, Denmark, ReproUnion, Institute for Women’s Health at University College London, Cardiff University, Sweden, Canada and Portugal. Together we created the fertility education poster.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Download the poster here – Fertility Education Poster

Take a selfie with the poster – do one with just you and one with groups of friends, and share this key message on social media. Ask others to do the same. Please use the hashtag #fertilityed. Tell us why you think fertility education is important and what country you are from  – this is a global project and we want to see which countries we reach. And feel free to tag me @ProfJoyceHarper.

If you know anyone famous – please ask them to come on board and take a selfie.

And send a copy to your national politicians and journalists.

Also put the poster up wherever you can: schools, doctors’ surgeries, fertility clinics, STI clinics, contraception clinics, universities, offices, etc.

We want the poster translated into as many languages as possible. We have already got it in Portuguese and Swedish. Get in touch if you want to help. joyce.harper@ucl.ac.uk

We are also looking for global ambassadors to promote fertility education. If you are interested in joining our campaign as an ambassador, please email joyce.harper@ucl.ac.uk.

And if you are in a country that does not have a fertility education program, or would like to be more involved at a national level, we will be holding a meeting at ESHRE 2020 to take this campaign further. For further information please contact joyce.harper@ucl.ac.uk

The team involved with the global fertility education poster are: Joyce Harper, Jacky Boivin, Adam Balen, Karin Hammarberg, Lone Schmidt, Soren Ziebe, Maja Bodin, Juliana Pedro, Mariana Veloso Martins, Emily Koert, Jessica Hepburn, Gabby Vautier, Cristina Magli, Satu Rautakallio-Hokkanen, Anita Fincham, Sarah Johnson, Lucy Broadbent, Jean Campbell

Why we think it is important:

Professor Joyce Harper – “Fertility education is urgently needed globally. In every country people are delaying having a family for a variety of reasons and we want to be sure that everyone who wants children can have children. The aim of the fertility education poster is to increase awareness of key information that can affect fertility. Female fertility decline becomes significant around age 35 as the quantity and quality of eggs decreases. IVF treatment cannot work miracles. For women under 35, the IVF success rate is around 30% but this decreases after age 35. Men and women must not leave it too late.”

Professor Jacky Boivin – “Fertility education is about giving people the information they need to make informed decisions about their fertility now and in the future. Our research shows that people want fertility information but that it needs to be tailored to different age groups.  The BFS have developed resources to help people access the information they need (see fertilityed.uk).”

Professor Adam Balen – “Knowledge is power. Understanding how your body works is a skill for life. This is why RSE has to included appropriate information about fertility and how to look after your reproductive health, so that young people are in a position to start their families when the time is right ”