# More education in schools about the reproductive lifespan?



## recorder (Jun 14, 2009)

it is a documented demographic fact that women are 'waiting' longer and longer to have children. The average age at first birth is about 28 at the moment - several years above what it used to be in the 1940s - 1970s.

Many of us, for many complex reasons - life, job, emotional etc - 'wait' to get pregnant through no fault of our own. Indeed most of us propbably do not think 32 _is that old_! At the same time, we are subject to a fertility industry that promises to help us conceive well into our thirties and 40s .... and also, many celebrities are having first babies at 47 (Holly Hunter), 45 Marcia Cross, 39/40 Nicole Kidman, now Maria Carey. Some of these disclose the use of IVF, others may be using donor eggs but not disclosing it. These very veyr late mid life babies are great - but they do give the 'illusion' that it is routine. For some women, they are indeed fertile in their 40s; but as we know, for some, ovarian reserve diminishes rapidly from the early - mid thirties.

At present, there is no real 'test' to determine who will be the lucky ones that remain fertile late into life; or the ones that sadly drew the short straw. There is the AMH test for ovarian reserve, and the FSH test as well, but these are not yet 'lifestyle' tests routinely available to all women so they can check up on their fertility. Thus we are hostage to nature.

Yet, in schools, the message in Sex Ed is constantly hysterical about teen pregnancy. Obviously that is a very important message, and teens need to be told how to have safe sex.

However, this can lead to very misleading assumptions later in life about how easy it is to conceive and that, coupled with the fact that lots of celebrities have very late first time babies, can ensure that many women are very misinformed about the true nature of the reproductive LIFEPSAN.
thus it makes sense to rebalance Sex Ed - warn about teen pregnancy, but give appropriate and calm messages too about just how 'quickly' our reproductive systems get 'old' even if we as women look and act young. We cannot, as yet, overcome Nature's intentions for our fertility. Until the AMH blood test becomes a routine family planning device I think we need much more education about the basics early in life.  
let me know your thoughts!


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