Survey: Women Misinformed About Link Between Fertility & Age

We all know about the birds and the bees and where babies come from—but how much do we actually know about our own fertility? As it turns out, very little. A new fertility awareness survey found that most women are ignorant of the main factor affecting fertility—their age, reports MSNBC.

Plus: Pregnancy at 20, 30, 40

Infertility, which affects 7.3 million American women, is something most women don’t fully understand. The survey (which was sponsored by biopharmaceutical firm EMD Serono Inc. with investigators from RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association), which was presented at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s recent annual meeting, found that more than 50 percent of the 1,000 women questioned failed to correctly answer at least seven out of 10 basic fertility questions. The questions that stumped many of them had to do with fertility as it relates to age and how long it may take to get pregnant at ages 20, 30, and 40 (hint: a healthy 30-year-old woman has just a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant in a given month—and that drops to about 5 percent by age 40).

Plus: How to Get Pregnant Faster

Researchers weren’t necessarily surprised by the survey results. As diet, beauty, and health products and services that keep our bodies looking and feeling younger, it’s easy to forget our reproductive systems aren’t on the same track. More women also hold off on having kids until they’ve achieved personal educational and professional goals. And finally, researchers found women think they can easily conceive into their late 30s and even early 40s because celebrities make it look so easy. Twins at 45? Why not me too?! But what the headlines don’t tell us is that many big names use IVF or donor eggs.

Plus: How to Prep Your Body for Pregnancy

Moms, how long did it take you to conceive? How old were you when you started trying to get pregnant?