Girls as young as 9 need tips on how to remain fertile in later life, say experts
British Fertility Society warns the UK's youngsters are oblivious to importance of maintaining a healthy diet, healthy body weight, doing enough exercise and not smoking
GIRLS should be given “tips” on how to get pregnant from the age of NINE, a leading fertility expert said last night.
British Fertility Society chairman Professor Adam Balen said too many girls were ignorant of the factors that can affect their fertility later in life.
He warned too many youngsters are oblivious to the dangers of leaving it too late to start a family.
A survey by the BFS earlier this year found four in five of those aged between 16 and 24 wrongly believed that female fertility only starts to decline after the age of 35.
We still have to advise about avoiding STIs – but we also need to ensure that young people are getting a better understanding of fertility
British Fertility Society chairman Professor Adam Balen
In reality, it can start to decline in the late 20s.
Family groups were quick to condemn the comments.
The Family Education Trust’s Norman Wells said: “Nine and ten-year-olds don’t need to enter puberty with a biological clock ticking in their ears.”
However, Prof Balen, who is also professor of Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, argued: “We need to be educating and informing young people much more about fertility.
“This is about how to be healthy and how to protect your future and about getting things right early.
“We still have to advise about avoiding STIs – but we also need to ensure that young people are getting a better understanding of fertility.
“The key things that need to be part of this conversation are about the need for a healthy diet, a healthy body weight, doing enough exercise and most importantly not smoking.
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“We need to get the message across early, and consistently to get the habits right from the start. I don’t think teenage girls are taking nearly enough exercise, for example.
“This is not about a one-off. We need to keep taking the chance to have these conversations.
“The messages have to be upbeat – we should be starting pre-puberty, this around the age of nine or 10, when they are mature enough to start understanding these issues.”
Speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Helsinki, Finland, he said it is “very important” the advice is included on the national curriculum.
He added: “It needs to be embedded in everyday schooling and to become a routine part of personal, social, health and economic education.”
Nine and ten-year-olds don’t need to enter puberty with a biological clock ticking in their ears
Norman Wells, The Family Education Trust
Norman Wells, from the Family Education Trust, said: “There is doubtless a time and place for communicating the message that female fertility declines with age and that motherhood cannot be put off indefinitely.
“But the majority of parents will take the view that the time is not prior to puberty and the place is not the primary school classroom.
“That said, there has certainly been an imbalance in the approach to sex education in many secondary schools that needs to be addressed.
“A strong emphasis on methods of avoiding pregnancy has often gone hand in hand with a very negative image of childbearing.
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