Teach girls of 12 to start a family by their late 20s
Doctor’s plea as she fears career women risk missing motherhood
GIRLS should be taught in school that the ‘optimal age’ to start a family is in their late twenties, a reproductive expert has said.
Dr Sarah Martins da Silva said a generation of career women risk missing out on motherhood because they do not realise the number of eggs in their body is declining.
The consultant gynaecologist and lecturer wants girls as young as 12 to be warned of their falling fertility at the same time they are taught about sex.
Dr da Silva, who works at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said these children are the ‘adults of the future’. Before reaching their forties having run out of time, they should have the information to plan the right time to start a family, she added.
Speaking before a debate in Edinburgh on egg freezing last night, the expert said: ‘There is an incredible amount of misunder- standing about when fertility declines. Some people think it is after the age of 40, but late twenties or early thirties is the optimal age to have a baby.
‘I want people to be equipped with that knowledge. I don’t want children to think they are pitching for their late twenties or nothing else, but I would like them to think about starting a family before their midthirties, before the age of 35.
‘I think if children are old enough for us to be talking about sexual infections, sexual health and reproduction, part of the message should be about fertility as a running theme.’
The comments come as soaring numbers of women in their forties
‘I have to break hearts every week’
north of the border are having children, with rising numbers turning to IVF treatment.
Glasgow Centre of Reproductive Medicine, which provides private fertility treatment, this week reported the average age of women seeking its services is 38, many having put off a baby to pursue their career, achieve financial stability or find the right partner.
Dr da Silva said: ‘I see women in front of me week after week and have to break their heart by telling them the reality is they cannot have children or the chances are very slim.
‘The demographic of people that I see in clinic is women who are career women, who are educated and empowered – powerful women – and yet there is this fundamental lack of knowledge about ovarian reserve and female fertility.’
She suggested girls from the age of 12 should be shown a graph charting the decline of the eggs in their body – not to dictate when they should have a baby but to give them enough knowledge to make an informed choice later in life.
Dr da Silva, an honorary senior lecturer in reproductive medicine at the University of Dundee, said: ‘This is about encouraging a discussion... empowering us as women and girls.’
The view was backed by another speaker in last night’s debate run by charity the Progress Educational Trust, entitled Can Women Put Motherhood on Ice?
Dr Angel Petropanagos, a research associate at Dalhousie University in Canada, said girls should even be taught about the possibility of freezing their eggs in their thirties to delay motherhood.
She said last night: ‘They should be taught about reproductive health more comprehensively in school. Egg freezing can be a part of that, but we should include balanced information about the risks and benefits of using assisted reproductive technology, and about adoption and remaining childless as well.’