It is no wonder we’re so easily panicked about infertility with the fearful narrative and stigmatism that comes from being ‘labelled’ infertile. A new survey published in the Oxford Journal of Reproduction has shown that nearly half of women and men don’t seek medical help due to the fear of being labelled infertile. Infertility is defined by the World Health organisation as failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months of trying.
The study was conducted between 2010 and 2012 on 15,162 men and women between the ages of 16-74 years. It reported that the one in ten men and one in eight women had experienced a period of infertility at some point in their lives. However, of these only 53.2% of men and 57.3% of women sought out medical help. Many put this down to failing to realise there is a problem, worries about the cost of treatment or the worry of the psychological burden of treatment.
The study also found that infertility was highest in women aged from 35 to 44. Experts have put this down to an increase in the number of women choosing to focus on their career and therefore delaying starting a family until their mid-thirties. In 2015 a top NHS gynaecologist claimed that women should try for a baby before the age of 30 to avoid creating a ‘fertility time bomb’.
They also found that women aged 50 or younger who had experienced infertility also reported symptoms of depression. However the long-term impact on mental-health is less well known. One thing is clear though is that fertility is dependent on the individual and therefore you cannot pinpoint the perfect time to have a child.
If you are worried about infertility or would like some advice please use the link below to talk to one of our specialist fertility doctors now.
