Experts say that kids should be given fertility lesson by the age of 11 to warn of the risks of starting a family too late. Fertility treatments are also giving many women a false sense of security.
Students should be taught about the best age to get pregnant when they are educated about contraception during sex education lessons, according to Adam Balen, chair of the British Fertility Society (BFS). Balen explains that many girls are unaware that their biological clocks speed up, as they get older. The concern is often masked by celebrities who get pregnant at the age of 40, but hide the need for expensive fertility treatments, such as IVF, donor eggs or surrogacy, according to Daily Mail.
More women are choosing to have a child when they are over 35 years old instead of 25. Children who were born to women at the age of 40 or older have multiplied in the past two decades.
The number of middle-aged women who are childless has also doubled in the last two generations. Balen continues to explain that when this issue is not addressed, the figures will continue to grow.
In May 2015, one of Britain's top NHS facility specialists issued a stark warning for women to start trying to get pregnant before turning 30. Not being able to do so puts women at risk of never having children.
In addition, women who get pregnant at an older age have a higher risk of miscarriage and having a baby with Down syndrome. Mothers are also more likely to suffer complications including pre-eclampsia, ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth, according to Telegraph.
While many families believe that fertility treatments would help them get pregnant at a later age, the best fertility clinics only have a 50 percent success rate. IVF has also given women a false sense of security as fertility treatments only have a three percent success rate for women over the age of 44.
Aside from educating young girls, boys should also be taught the best age for starting a family. A study by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that men's fertility also begins to decline after the age of 25.
Sex education has put much emphasis on how to avoid pregnancy, which has presented a negative image of childbearing, according to Normal Wells from Family Education Trust. As part of the BFS's Fertility Education Taskforce, fertility lessons will be part of the national curriculum.
