Improving education and awareness - letter to Ministers

As some may know, I wrote to the UK Department of Health lobbying for improved education and awareness on (in)fertility issues, and copied the letter also to several fertility organisations. The HFEA has suggested that I also write to the UK Department of Education, so am about to do that. But here is what I am thinking: to do a petition along the following lines, which is pretty much the text of my letter to Ministers. So get ready for the link to be posted soon and take the pledge the support:

We, the undersigned ....

…feel strongly that there is a serious lack of information and education amongst men and women on the topic of fertility issues and infertility awareness. It affects every couple of child-bearing age. One category particularly at risk is working women. You receive this today in your capacity as MP and office-holder of the Department of Health or Education to enlist your attention and support. This will also be shared with many other relevant bodies.

There is little information readily available to young men and women to inform them of the types of fertility challenges they may face in life: for example, that male infertility relates to one third of cases, the risk of declining fertility with age - the risk of not starting to try for a family in a woman's early thirties at the latest, if they can help it (other issues can prevent this, such as health or lack of a stable relationship).

Fertility information is predominantly on infertility websites that a young person is not likely to turn to as a port of call. Information on the web can be incorrect, misleading or lack the full facts - and yet people place a large, albeit misplaced, reliance on these sources. Doctors and nurses do not talk to their patients on these topics necessarily to ensure they are correctly informed. The media creates a twisted and incorrect perception of the issues often, because it focuses more on sensationalist headlines as opposed to reliable, balanced and well researched reporting. In today's fast paced world, people rely too much on sound-bites and headlines for information. Friends and families can be reluctant to talk on these topics, even if they are well informed, out of fear of offending and not wanting to interfere. It is tragic that out of fear people do not even take the step to ask if someone would like children, and less still be sure that the person knows what they need to know, when they need to know or point them in the direction of getting the right information. Sadly, a lot of stigma still remains around discussing issues of fertility and infertility.

There is a crisis occurring, therefore, in the developed nations of our modern times. Fertility education and infertility awareness is an issue relevant to men as much as women, and something they need to be aware of in good time - which means before they decide to start for a family, as otherwise it may be too late for them to make the correct and informed decisions for their lives.

You may not appreciate the severity of the issue. We would, therefore, like to refer you to the following resources for information:

www.fertilityandage.blogspot.com - promoting fertility awareness & education.
http://www.vimeo.com/11214833 - video promoting infertility awareness
http://www.self.com/health/2010/08/breaking-the-silence-on-infertility?currentPage=1 - article exploring why infertility awareness is still where cancer was 10/20 years ago
http://hannahweptsarahlaughed.blogspot.com/ - infertility advocate from the United States

There is a lot that can be done to alleviate the trauma that many couples are experiencing today in the United Kingdom. Women in their thirties and forties are saying: why are we still treated as teenagers even in our thirties and older when we go for a pill check? Why do so many of us not know the hard facts? Why do those 'in the know' not share?

The medical profession and educationists themselves can do much to improve the situation with a little effort and at a relatively modest cost. You will see some suggestions in www.fertilityandage.blogspot.com:

1) Improve education at schools making it more than a teenage pregnancy focus;
2) improve education of GPs on this topic;
3) make it a requirement that fertility conversations are had with women at pill checks and pap smears;
4) encourage doctors generally to have conversation with patients in their 20's and 30's - they will need guidance on how to do this correctly and sensitively;
5) produce booklets on the topic made available to men and women in their 20's and 30's;
6) work with the health officials of companies to promote awareness amongst their staff; and
7) promotion of fertility awareness days nationally.

The NHS in the UK is coming under much criticism for spending on IVF. Sadly to an extent the NHS has allowed the problem to exacerbate. It does not do enough to address up front prevention - seeking to reduce the avoidable cases of infertility. It is not that modern couples do not listen; it is that they are not being given the correct facts to be able to make better and more informed decisions.

If prevention and education was a greater focus area, we would eventually see a drop in infertility rates which would in turn translate into more money in the public coffers and less cases of IVF treatments being needed. People do not know what they do not know and it is very hard for them to make good and wise life choices with respect to when to start trying for a family if they really don't fully understand the risks. There will always be a need for IVF, but at least it will have been controlled to those that really needed it, and will stop this becoming an escalating issue.

In the same way as once upon a time we used to think it was fine to smoke and drink while pregnant, and now know the consequences of doing this, with improved education on fertility we can similarly make inroads to reduce cases of infertility. The medical profession, the Department of Health and the Department of Education are excellently placed to lead with this, as they have the gravitas to speak with authority on the topic and change public perception of it. A topic that, unfortunately, too many people shy away from discussing in our modern world and which in turn is letting down our sons and daughters. Government cannot rely on friends and families to have these conversations because they aren’t always happening.

Our goal is simple: reducing the avoidable cases of infertility and that correct education becomes just part of each young adult's knowledge tapestry so that they do not have unpleasant surprises later in life. Let's help people move to a world where we reduce these avoidable cases of infertility requiring treatment and of women who are unintentionally childless - which ironically can be the better educated echelons of society.

Please work to bring about this change!