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A TOP DOCTOR has called for fertility to be put on the school curriculum in the UK.
Dr Geeta Nargund, a consultant gynaecologist at St George’s Hospital in London, has said it’s important women and girls learn about fertility from a younger age.
Nargund recently wrote to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan calling for fertility lessons to be included in the national curriculum to “empower people to take control of their fertility”.
The UK Independent quotes Nargund as saying: “Educated women are not necessarily educated about their fertility.”
She also believes women should have children before they’re 30 if possible, stating: ”If a woman starts trying at 35, doctors have got to sort it out when she is already on a slippery fertility slope.”
However, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) doesn’t necessarily agree with this:
What do you make of her stance on fertility education?
Should girls be taught about their fertility at school?
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Is this not already covered in biology?
It is, but you’re only thought it if you choose to study biology
Ah I see
It’s specifically the issue of fertility and family planning. Most people know that women can’t get pregnant past menopause, but many people aren’t actually educated about how difficult it can be to conceive even at the age of thirty.
Teenagers plan their future when it comes to college, potential career opportunities, emigration etc. So why not include planning for a family?
Far from being old school Catholic patriarchy, it’s quite liberating for women to know what their options are.
Well goddamnit – I thought this was a new initiative by the Governemnt to teach young ones about farming to get wives for all the lonely farmers – in account of the ban in Russian wives – I am only presuming this is covered by the Sanctions,
But then I see it’s fertilitiy and not fertiliser !
“Will we ever build the Social Utopia from whence all dreams of buffalo as light as clouds doth spring to the mind of man ?” – A. Socialist-Poete – famous for summin or other …. maths..
Are we going back to teaching girls that they are only good for bringing babies into the world?
Nobody is making that insinuation.
People are not confined to particular gender roles anymore and societal norms change over time. But human anatomy does not.
This is about educating girls so that they can make informed decisions about their futures. We all accept that we won’t remain as physically strong and fit as we are as young adults for the full duration of our lives. People plan ahead and pay into pensions and so on.
We all acknowledge that we will grow older and age with time, and our circumstances change. Why is there so much PC nonsense around this issue?
Qwerty, finally a post of wisdom on this ill-fated site.
Do they not cover it for junior cert?
No, they cover reproduction at a very basic level in junior cert science, SPHE and home ec. Fertility isn’t really mentioned at junior cert. It does come up in leaving cert biology but only at a very basic level, you literally have to know the definition of infertility and two or three causes.
I started school in Holland and from the very beginning you are taught about your genitals, the proper name, that it is not ok for someone to touch them. We had stories to normalise the use of the words and there was no shame. We moved back to Ireland and the next time we spoke about sex ed was one day in sixth class. Nothing since. I think sex ed should be taught from the beginning of school to include respect, responsibly and dispel any falsehoods. And it should be taught to boys and girls. Education is never a mistake.
I also believe cheap contraception should be widely available. Teenagers are having sex whether we like it or not. Sticking our heads in the sand is not going to solve anything.
The fact of the matter is people cant afford to have children our taxation system is killing this country.How would young people find time to rear kids when they are paying mortgages and charges left right and centre on top of that educate them so we can ship them abroad.Ireland is not a country to rear a family there’s no quality of life hear any more unless your dob!!!!!!!!!!!!
This country allows family home evictions all in the name of banks.The state cant even look after the kids it has 1700 homeless children in Ireland.You should be ashamed to vote ff fg labour on next election why because they dont care we and our kids are only numbers to them and their buddys.
There’s PC nonsense around too much these days.
So many woman take their fertility for granted. Most of us spend our twenties actively preventing pregnancy without actually knowing our fertility status to begin with. The pain of infertility is immeasurable and I believe overlooked by society in general. Young women should be encouraged and supported to explore their reproductive health in their early twenties so that they have plenty of time to make informed decisions.
It’s not a 1 dimensional consideration though. Unless women are consigned to being only about making babies then having a baby needs to be timed so that some inroads into a career have been made. Otherwise women will only begin their careers when they are older, already have family responsibilities and possibly developments in their chosen career have passed them by. Also if your having babies that early in your career you definately will not be able to afford childcare to get back into the workforce. And don’t forget women may like to be in a stable long term relationship when considering having a family also!
@sunshine…my daughter got married at 24. Had her first child at 25 and her second at 27. She was already established in her career as was her husband. Childcare has been manageable with both grandmothers looking after the children 1 day a week and the creche does the job for a reasonable sum for the other 3 days.
Poll: Should the Journal continue taking worthless, insipid polls to divert attention from the grotesque Denis O’Brien gagging?
Alan Dukes was asked does he think Catherine Murphys comments are in the public interest. Alan replies ‘I don’t know the definition of in the public interest’.
Alan is on the board to represent public interest. Go figure.
Correct, a director at zombie anglo, later of course IBRC.
I heard him on morning Ireland dissing Catherine Murphy. He seems very uncomfortable with her digging.
Alarm bells……
Looks like Dennis has created The Streisand effect.
The only sex ed I got in school was a talk about periods and tampons at age 15 and a talk about chastity in 6th year (with a heavily pregnant 6th year in the front row)
It annoys me when these experts put the pressure on women to get pregnant in their 20s….what about educating men? Family planning is not solely down to women!
The vast majority of women start a family based on the strength of their relationship and obviously in agreement with their partner!!! Are women now just get pregnant in their 20s regardless of the wishes of a man??!!
Women are asexual don’t you know =P
But how many women get pregnant and the man walks away?
Surely if both persons were educated early enough, they would be able to make better decisions.
Look lets be more realistic here, sex is great, and if its good sex its even better, but sometimes there are results. If all kids were taught this at a younger age they might be more thoughtful. After all I doubt anyone here has not had a one night stand.
This article was about women becoming more aware of their fertility, and we should. But so should men, they should ask the question also.
Remember the Metro Herald…. You’re heading that way Journal…. I’ll give it another 12 months… Crap polls, articles ripped off other sites… Refusing to grow a pair and discuss the real topics!!! I’m done
Yeah, I left the journal too but not before I left them a nice little review on the Google play store. I come back for a visit through the net to see how the protest is going. Broadsheet.ie is a good news app with comments worth looking into.
We were given sex ed classes in 6th class primary. While it was a bit technical it did help. When I went to secondary school they did sex ed classes again in 3rd year..what a shambles, it was shared between the religion and science teachers, omg..terrible stuff altogether. One teacher telling us that when two people love each other stuff, and the other telling us that two people should only love each other at certain times of the month.
I hope our kids are getting a better edication now.
Yes. I’m in my 20′s and STILL learning stuff about my reproductive health.
Who’s faults that? You have the internet and acess to books, get reading and stop passing blame.
I don’t think she find out much about her own specific body in Google or in books Tony, but cheers for the condescension
She wasn’t blaming anyone, Tony, she was expressing an opinion on what should or shouldn’t be done to help the next generation of women. Let’s be grateful you can’t get pregnant from people jumping down your throat.
What a ridiculous question. Anyone who disagrees with this needs to there heads checked.
What they are talking about here is promoting having babies in your 20s rather than waiting to your 30s. Imagine telling a teenage girl they need to work hard for their Leaving Cert so they can go to university and come straight out and have babies. Joys of womanhood!
That’s not at all what it is, the truth is we are only fertile for a certain amount of time and unfortunately biology has not caught up with society. We do so many things when we are you that can affect our health let alone our fertility. Drinking, smoking, drugs etc. and yes most of us woman put of having babies for very sensible reasons – I had my Daughter at 30 because before that although fertility wise I was in my prime, I was not in a stable enough life to bring a child into this world, I waited till I knew I could give my child a stable good life but in doing that I know she will not have 3-4 siblings most likely 1 maybe 2 more simply because biologically, without medical intervention ( which I’m not against ) I won’t be as fertile as I was when I was 23. This education is not saying go have babies young . It’s informing them that you have to take care of yourself and know your options.
Boys & girls should be encouraged to think about IF they want a family. & if so how many children they would like & why. Nobody really thinks about it first, at least then you could decide what is more important to you. 1 child? Several kids? Career 1st? & realise that if you choose career it could be very difficult & for some impossible to have a family later. Nobody thinks at 20 that it might not happen for them in the future. You can’t even picture yourself in your 30′s & 40′s. There’s no point teaching them the biology of it but not the reality ie maybe having to leave your great job you love because of no childcare or wanting 3 kids but only having 1. Ivf & cost. This is what they should discuss in sphe or whatever it’s called now.
want to make God laugh? tell him your plans
“Over the weekend women in their 20s were again under pressure to conceive. But this debate isn’t about fertility so much as an outdated social conservatism.” (Well worth a read).
Mary…sorry I read the first few lines and faded out.
However I do think women should be looking out for themselves especially if they do want children and a family. This idea that you can have a career and then have children only works for so many.
Women should look at having a family and then a career.
And before yous all tear me apart…I had my 3rd child when I was in my 20s. I was young enough to deal with the demands of young kids and fortunate to be able to grow up with them and also further my career. I am so happy now. I did the ballet, scouts, pageants, soccer and GAA, coz I was young.
But thats me, and I respect any decision anyone makes for themselves.
Its just I think the pressure should be taken off women to go to work all the time, afterall we are the only ones able to produce babies, so instead of pushing them into work, maybe promote the fact that they make families.
I’m an advocate of giving girls all the information they need at an early age so they can decide what’s best for them in the future. We shouldn’t be pressuring anyone to do one thing or another.
You’re right joanna
Joanna, tje fact remains that young women don’t know their a$$ from their elbows in their early 20s. Ditto for the young men also.
Exactly Joanna, experience lends me to believe that.
Give them the information, its up to them what they choose to do with it.
I received it, and thankfully made a few correct choices because of it.
The worst we can do is leave them to find out when it’s too late.
Jenni I agree, you have much more energy in your twenties for babies and small kids! I had mine early thirties but most of my friends had theirs in their twenties, I would have much preferred that but just hadn’t met the right person.
Sure your grand up until 60 or so nowadays
Saw article in Saturday’s Daily Mail and although know it’s true and fact that Irish women leave it later to have children than their European counterparts, still think there is scare mongering in media that can cause panic and stress. As a woman in 30′s I’m well used to this stress and unbalanced one-sided discussion in media etc. I think there are many alternative therapies and lifestyle adjustments that can help which are often not mentioned as if food/ healthy diet, fertility cleanses are hog wash having unsubstantiated claims when plenty of studies have shown egg donar/ivf is not only route or when is aforementioned diet etc can benefit. Yes we should educate teens but please don’t let companies etc with vested interests be only ones to give their side of story declaring it’s too late. There is enough stress out there. For every sad unfortunate story there’s a happy one.
http://www.cincinnatifertility.com/holistic-treatment/fertility-diet. http://www.serennaturalfertility.co.uk/case-studies/ Just two examples of success stories.
Being taught about the swimmers and not about the eggs is like tryna teach someone how to play hurling without a ball..
Jokes aside its pretty daft its not already taught already
Why at schools?
There is an assumption that a teacher is better qualified to teach about a girl’s fertility than her parent. Sure, a teacher is in loco parentis during the schoolday, but should teaching about fertility be in a teacher’s remit as well?
Perhaps the State should have more faith in the parents of this country? In Nordic countries, it is assumed that a parent will, well, parent when it comes to religion, substance misuse, environmental awareness, religious observance, relationships & sexuality etc. Personal and civic responsibility is something which is instilled (and celebrated) in Scandinavia.
In this country, the assumption is that parents are Ill-equipped or qualified. Parents are undermined, undervalued and overlooked so often in the media.
So what you are asking is that parents are allowed to abdicate responsibly?
10% say too young and 5% don’t know that’s a lot of stupid people!
Why do you say people are stupid? Very unfair. Women have enough on their plate with career etc. and not every woman gets to meet her life partner by 30. Alot of women aren’t ready to have children in their thirties. Egg freezing isn’t the answer either as it is a complicated and expensive procedure. Why can’t people accept that all our lives take different courses.
Mary did you actually read the poll question?
It asks “Should girls be taught about fertility in school?”.
I made no comment on whether the should have babies or not and the timing!
Of course I read the question. Believe you me. Every woman is fully aware of their age and fertility. But guess what? There is nothing they can do about it. Everyone seems to think that freezing eggs is the answer to to all their problems and it’s not. Why have a baby for the sake of it? There is way too much pressure on women as it is. Plus speaking to a teenager about their late twenties or thirties means nothing to them.
Mary I say people are stupid because the responded to this this question as follows!
Should girls be taught about their fertility at school?
9% responded that teenagers were too young to be told. Stupid answer.
4% responded I don’t know. Another stupid answer.
Are you of the opinion that giving teenagers fertility information is a bad idea?
Are you of the opinion that telling teenagers that their fertility will decline in their 30 is a bad idea?
No I am of the opinion that ones learning curve does not finish in school. Every woman knows about their fertility. Why do people see every issue in this world as something that should be sorted out in school. The issue of fertility belongs to adults after all. We are all responsible for our selves. Stop trying to give that responsibility to schools.
I am an advocate of life long learning and I think it would be stupid not to inform teenage girls about fertility in school, I also think that this information about fertility should be reinforced at regular intervals. How one would go about that might be difficult or insensitive, perhaps the government could target people with mail shots or have regular media campaigns.
So nag and stress women about something they can do nothing about.
Mary if women are armed with information about their fertility they are enabled to make a decision as to whether they will try to have children in their in 20′s, 30s, 40s even perhaps their 50′s. They will know that as they get older the chances of conceiving decrease and that the costs associated with fertility treatment are enormous and that there can be serious health implications associated with this treatment. I find it strange that you think educating women about fertility is nagging and even stranger that you think this information will stress them.
As I said they already know so to reinforce that is nagging. Please give the ladies of this island a bit of credit. We are a smart bunch
The expert who advocates this strategy disagrees with you!
The UK Independent quotes Nargund as saying: “Educated women are not necessarily educated about their fertility.”
From the Guardian Article: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/15/sex-education-for-teenagers-should-include-fertility-says-doctor
“You would be surprised how many women don’t realise the huge impact age has on their fertility,”Nargund says. “Women come to me at 38 and say ‘I wish somebody had told me that age had such a big effect on fertility’. Even educated women. They’re not necessarily educated about fertility.”
Now I am sure a quick search will throw up lots of contradicting viewpoints, but I would surprised if most people in the field did not think that educating women about their fertility was a good idea.
Yawn. Me and my eggs are getting on with our day now xx
Taking charge of your own fertility by Toni Weschler
When I was in secondary school there we had sex ed, from first year.
But that was back in the 70s.
*sexy Ed (surely)
Actually Dave O’Keeffe I was going to type education, but it was late, and I couldn’t be ar*ed, is that OK with you ?
Actually it wasn’t about your grammar. I just realised that by adding a ‘y’ the whole meaning changes so I posted it.
Wen anyone wants to blame .world phsycolighsts blame the mother..wen religion is worshiped its a pregnant mother Mary..wen it goes wrong its mother..there are about 30 types of female contraception to feck us up..for men theres one ..for eternal youth have a baby ..for botox after math …wen will the world focus on men..who will have the neck..every woman is naturally tuned in to her biology so are animals ..before doctors before science…the question is are boys ready at 16 to have a korear a well paid job are girls ..the doctor clearly got herself a good education ..who paid ..its just another face cream or cheap sell sex add..biology should be taught without catholic hang ups in primary schools .maybe we should send them to college wen there 10 .I’m tired of the world focusing on a woman’s belly..
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