Ignorance could hurt: an assessment of fertility awareness, childbirth intentions and parenting attitudes among university students.

BACKGROUND: An emerging pattern of increasing median age at first birth among women has been well documented in Western countries. A similar but less remarkable trend is being experienced in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a paucity of information in Sub-Saharan Africa about awareness of age-related fertility decline. The aim of this study was to assess the perception of fertility, childbirth intentions and parenting attitudes among university students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 231 female and 158 male students randomly selected university undergraduates in Nigeria using a self-reported questionnaire.

RESULTS: The respondents overestimated the ages of slight (92.1%) and marked decline (89.4%) in female fertility. The chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex during ovulation was overestimated by 93.1% of the respondents. Over three-quarters of them overestimated the success rate of in-vitro fertilization. The sources of information regarding fertility issues were mainly school (40.1%), the media (20.6%) and family members (18.8%). About 98.7% of the childless respondents reported an intention to have children in the future. The mean number of children desired was 3.29±1.14. Females desire to have their first and last children earlier than males (p=0.000). The perceived potential obstacles to having the desired children were the pursuit of career aspirations (35.5%) and the pursuit of personal interests (20.8%).

CONCLUSIONS: Misconceptions about fertility issues have grave implications for involuntary childlessness and secondary infertility. Comprehensive family planning education that will address the misconceptions about female fecundity and parenting issues are required.