Is it an issue before it's a problem? Investigating men's talk about fertility

Young adult's views on using a poster to learn about fertility: redesigning the fertility education poster

Fertility awareness should be taught to everyone. The International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (IRHEC) designed a fertility poster in 2019 but did not have a specific target group in mind. Studies have been conducted in Denmark and Sweden to determine how the poster can be redesigned. In this study, we carried out focus groups with young adults in the UK to ask their views of the poster, with the aim of redesigning it. Six focus groups were undertaken with twenty seven, 18-25 year olds. Five questions were asked: 1. What are your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the poster? 2. Did you learn anything from the poster? 3. How has reading the poster impacted your opinions or thoughts about having children? 4. What are your opinions about using a poster format to inform and start reflections regarding family building? 5. Reading through each point are there any changes to be made? Content analysis was performed. Themes identified revealed the information on the poster gave the participants some anxiety and apprehension, especially regarding the effect of age on fertility, perceptions of IVF, and gaps in knowledge. The fertility education poster is a good resource for education, but other resources should be developed.

How to talk to young adults about fertility

RESEARCH QUESTION

How knowledgeable are Danish young adults about fertility and what are their attitudes towards learning about their reproductive biology?

DESIGN

The study was conducted at different educational institutions with 11 focus-group discussions that included a total of 47 participants (aged 18-29 years). Qualitative content analysis was used. The participants' fertility knowledge score was measured using the Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale.

RESULTS

The participants had an overall fertility knowledge score of 54%. Focus-group data showed that they thought it was important to learn about fertility and how to protect their fertility potential regardless of whether or not they wanted children. Providing knowledge is like planting a seed in the young adults. They wanted to hear about fertility in multifaceted ways and formats, and believed the information should be delivered by professionals, but developed in partnership with young people. The double-edged sword of knowledge and the consequence of knowledge made them hesitant or less open to learning.

CONCLUSIONS

Recommendations from this study are to tailor fertility information to young people, with due cognisance of their developmental stage, and ideally from an earlier age.

The pros and cons of fertility awareness and information: a generational, Swedish perspective

Being aware of factors that affect fertility can help people make informed decisions about their reproductive futures. To some, however, fertility information leads to worry and self-blame. In this paper, we explore how people from different generations discuss fertility and reproductive decision-making, along with their perceptions of fertility information. The study was conducted in southern Sweden with 26 focus-group discussions that included a total of 110 participants aged 17-90 years. The material was analysed thematically. Our results show that fertility knowledge and openness to talking about fertility problems have increased over generations. Participants who were assigned female at birth were more often concerned about their fertility than those who were not, and fertility concerns were transferred from mothers to daughters. While age-related fertility concerns had been uncommon in older generations, participants aged 25-40 often expressed these concerns. Young adults appreciated being knowledgeable about fertility but simultaneously expressed how fertility information could lead to distress. Our conclusion is that fertility information was best received by high-school students, and efforts to improve fertility education in schools are therefore recommended.

A fertility app for two? Women's perspectives on sharing conceptive fertility work with male partners

Smartphone apps for monitoring bodily signs of ovulation are growing in popularity and becoming increasingly important tools for facilitating or preventing pregnancy. This article explores heterosexual women's experiences of using fertility apps in the context of trying to conceive. Specifically, it focuses on a feature of fertility apps that enables women to share information about fertility with a male partner. This feature is frequently lauded by apps as providing an opportunity for partners to be more actively involved in the work of trying to conceive. With this focus, the article makes two key contributions to the emerging literature on fertility apps. Firstly, it situates narratives in apps that promote the shared responsibility for conception as part of a pre-parenting culture that values a shared commitment to (future) parenthood. Secondly, drawing on interviews with women in the UK who had used fertility apps, it explores women's perspectives on involving their male partners in pregnancy planning. Rather than redistributing conceptive fertility work, women's experiences reveal how cultural assumptions about heterosexuality and 'natural conception' significantly curtail their ability to engage partners in fertility tracking. As a result, the gendered divisions of fertility work are reconfigured in the new sociotechnical context of fertility app use.

Preconditions to parenthood: changes over time and generations

Reproductive decision-making and fertility patterns change with time and place, and are influenced by contemporary societal factors. In this paper, we have studied biosocial aspects of reproductive decision-making over time and generations in a Nordic setting. The aim was to explore intergenerational changes and influences on decision-making, especially regarding preconditions to first birth. Twenty-six focus group interviews were conducted in southern Sweden, including a total of 110 participants aged 17-90 years. The analysis of the interviews resulted in six themes: (i) 'Providing security - an intergenerational precondition'; (ii) 'A growing smorgasbord of choices and requirements'; (iii) 'Parenthood becoming a project'; (iv) 'Stretched out life stages'; (v) '(Im)possibilities to procreate'; and (vi) 'Intergenerational pronatalism'. Our findings reflect increasing expectations on what it means to be prepared for parenthood. Despite increasing awareness of the precariousness of romantic relationships, people still wish to build new families but try to be as prepared as possible for adverse events. The findings also show how increasing life expectancy and medical advancements have come to influence people's views on their reproductive timeline.