Men are not the biggest fertility problem for women – survey

An online survey conducted by a magazine, to establish New Zealand women’s views on fertility, has revealed some surprising results.

The key problems New Zealand women said they encountered while trying to conceive were Endometriosis/Polycystic Ovarian (32%), unexplained infertility (31%), recurrent miscarriage (20%), age (16%), and male fertility issues (16%).

93% of Kiwi women agree more should be done to promote ways to improve fertility, and 63% have friends and family who have experienced fertility issues. Women surveyed also believed there should be more promotion around alternatives to IVF (92%) and 36% said they would consider helping infertile couples through egg donation.

Other key factors which Kiwi women believed influenced infertility, included: weight (60%), lifestyle (52%), genetics (50%), diet and food (49%), and smoking (47%).

The cost of IVF was also a concern with 82% saying IVF was too expensive, 37% said it should be free to people fitting a certain criteria and 31% that it should be partially funded. The survey was published in Good Health magazine.