What are my options? Fertility awareness, infertility treatment awareness, and education needs among Generation Z women

IF 2.2

FS Reports Pub Date : 2026-02-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-28 DOI:10.1016/j.xfre.2025.11.007

Meredith L. Clements Ph.D., Sean Sawicki Ph.D., Noelani Segree B.A.

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Abstract

Objective

To study fertility awareness and infertility treatment awareness among Generation Z women in the United States.

Design

Cross-sectional survey study.

Subjects

A total of 212 women, ages 18–27, participated in an online survey.

Exposure

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Levels of fertility awareness were categorized as low (0%–40%), moderate (41%–70%), or high (71%–100%). Knowledge differences were analyzed using frequency tables to evaluate the number of correct and incorrect responses.

Results

Generation Z women demonstrated moderate awareness of basic information about menstruation and fertilization. Knowledge of age-related infertility treatment success rates varied, with 29% knowing the in vitro fertilization success rate for a 35-year-old and 48% for a 44-year-old. Only 27% identified the likelihood of a miscarriage, reflecting a 9% decline from millennial women surveyed in 2017 by Kudesia et al. using the same instrument. While 87% knew the correct age range for peak fertility, far fewer (54%) knew the age range for fertility decline. Fecundability knowledge was limited (40% at age 30; 42% at age 40). Respondents showed high levels of awareness toward basic definitions of three infertility treatments. Whereas 74% wanted children in the future, 59% felt uninformed about fertility, and 69% reported varying levels of concern toward their future fertility.

Conclusion

Fertility knowledge has improved by a modest 3% when comparing women in Generation Z with millennials. This increase is not substantial enough to indicate meaningful progress. Failing to address these ongoing knowledge gaps may hinder young women’s abilities to make informed decisions and can lead to involuntary childlessness. To help increase reproductive autonomy, tailored fertility health education should target women in Generation Z before they age out of the peak fertility age range.

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我有什么选择？Z世代女性的生育意识、不孕治疗意识和教育需求

目的了解美国Z世代女性的生育意识和不孕不育治疗意识。设计横断面调查研究。共有212名年龄在18-27岁之间的女性参加了一项在线调查。ExposureNot适用。生育意识水平分为低（0%-40%）、中（41%-70%）和高（71%-100%）。使用频率表分析知识差异，以评估正确和错误回答的数量。结果Z世代女性对月经和受精基本信息的了解程度一般。对与年龄有关的不孕症治疗成功率的了解各不相同，35岁的人知道体外受精成功率为29%，44岁的人知道体外受精成功率为48%。只有27%的人确定了流产的可能性，反映出Kudesia等人在2017年使用相同工具调查的千禧一代女性下降了9%。虽然87%的人知道生育高峰的正确年龄范围，但知道生育下降的年龄范围的人要少得多（54%）。生育知识有限（30岁为40%，40岁为42%）。受访者对三种不孕症治疗的基本定义有很高的认识。74%的人希望将来有孩子，59%的人对生育能力不了解，69%的人对未来的生育能力表示不同程度的担忧。结论：与千禧一代相比，Z一代女性的生育知识提高了3%。这一增长不足以表明有意义的进展。如果不能解决这些持续存在的知识差距，可能会阻碍年轻妇女做出知情决定的能力，并可能导致非自愿无子女。为了提高生育自主权，量身定制的生育健康教育应该针对未过生育高峰年龄的Z世代女性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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