A summit of gynaecologists is to take place to help tackle widespread concern among women about the quality of information they receive about their fertility, it has been announced.
A new survey has highlighted major confusion among women about what advice to trust on fertility health.
The survey, conducted for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, find that 86% of women found they were receiving "contradictory" information from different sources.
Some 76% said they doubted whether they were receiving impartial and unbiased information.
There was also general concern about fertility health – affecting 49% of women and 25% of those aged between 18 and 24.
54% said on-line forums were unreliable and this increased to 74% when Facebook groups were mentioned. 47% did not trust advice from friends and family.
Women were asked what steps they would take to tackle fertility problems – and 45% said they would consider freezing eggs. 20% have used a fertility app.
The college has now organised a "fertility forum" for the end of the month, working with the British Fertility Society and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
College president Professor Lesley Regan said: "This new data echoes what we have been hearing from women and patients for many years.
“It is vital that women and couples have access to accurate, evidence-based, impartial and expert advice which is why we have brought together renowned experts, patients and partners together in one location for our very first Fertility Forum event.”
Clare Murphy, from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: “This important research highlights just how carefully we need to communicate messages about fertility and infertility, however well-intentioned these may be. It’s often suggested that women are ignorant about the decline in fertility as they get older – if anything many young women are acutely aware that they may experience difficulties conceiving and worry about this – often without any good reason.
"Women deserve high quality, evidence-based information about fertility communicated in a respectful way to help inform their decisions across their reproductive life course.”
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