Research Article Volume 1 Issue 2 - April 2016 J Gynecol Women’s Health Copyright © All rights are reserved by Wilson IB Onuigbo Infertility Awareness among UK University Students Harriet Ribbons* and Radwan Faraj Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Sheffield, UK Submission: April 14, 2016; Published: April 21, 2016 *Corresponding author: Harriet Ribbons, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Rotherham Hospital, University of Sheffield, Moorgate Road, Rotherham, S60 2UD, UK, Tel: 01709424191; Email: Abstract The average age of a Mother in 2013 was found to be 30 years older than in 2012. The average family size in 2013 was 1.85 children, lower than in 2012. The factors which are seen to influence the number of births, average age of Mothers and the number of children are timing of child bearing, completion of family size, finance, housing, welfare and employment uncertainty. Statistics show that individuals are delaying child bearing and University Students are seen to delay child bearing further. This is the first study of this kind in the UK and will assess attitudes among UK students. In this study we have 181 randomly selected University Students completed a 20 question fertility questionnaire. 96.1% of students agreed that smoking is bad for female fertility. 90.6% of students correctly answered that a raised Body Mass Index (BMI) can affect fertility. 72.4% of students correctly identified chlamydia as a cause of infertility. This study showed that UK students have a good awareness of adverse factors that affect their fertility. However, their awareness needs to improve regarding when to seek help for subfertility and also what resources are available for NHS funding. Keywords: Fertility awareness; Subfertility; Childbearing; Medicine students Introduction The aim of this study is to assess the understanding of fertility and fertility affecting factors among a range of University educated students. The objective is to show whether fertility understanding is improving over time. Birth rates in 2012 for England and Wales showed 27.9 per thousand births were to women aged under the age of 18 [1]. Teenage pregnancy rates are decreasing year on year in the United Kingdom (UK). However, in 2012 the UK continued to have the fourth highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe; marginally behind Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia [2]. In the UK the average age for first time Mothers and Fathers has increased over the past 20 years. In 1993 the average age of first time Mothers was 27.9 years; 2013 statistics showed an increase to 30 years of age. The average age for first time Fathers was 31.1 years in 1993 which had increased to 32.9 years by 2013 [3] (Figure 1). There were 698,512 births in England and Wales in 2013, a large decrease in births since 2012 [3]. The average fertility rate in 2013 was 1.85 children, lower than in 2012. Factors which are seen to influence birth rates are an increase in effective contraception, females increasing participation in careers and education, gender equality, finances and housing [4]. Data has shown that over time childlessness among women is increasing and population sizes are decreasing [5]. Childlessness has commonly been attributed to women’s choice of career, women continuing into higher education and a general underestimation of the importance of the “biological clock” [4]. Female financial independence has given women more options and opportunities than in previous generations. This change has shown an affinity to further education (and for longer) among females resulting in a delay in child bearing and further to this, decreased marriage rates [6] (Figure 2). Figure 1: First time maternal average age from UK 2003-2013. Adapted from Ofice for National Statistics [26]. J Gynecol Women’s Health 1(1): JGWH.MS.ID.555554 (2016) 001 Journal of Gynecology and Women’s Health