Fertility-awareness knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending general practice

Most women who attend assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinics believe women should receive fertility-awareness education when they first report trouble conceiving. Interest in fertility awareness among women who attend general practice is largely unknown. We aimed to measure fertility-awareness knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending general practice.

A cross-sectional survey of women attending three different general practices was conducted.

Of the respondents, 37.1% actively tried to improve their knowledge of fertility awareness, 9.8% were actively planning a pregnancy and 4.3% were using fertility awareness as contraception. Yet, only 2.1% of the overall sample correctly identified the fertile period of the menstrual cycle. Most respondents (92.2%) believed women should receive fertility-awareness education when they first report trouble conceiving.

One-third of women who attend general practice show interest in fertility awareness, but far fewer can correctly identify the fertile period of the menstrual cycle. All women who report using fertility awareness as contraception should be counselled on their actual knowledge and advised accordingly. Concordant with our previous study of women who experience infertility, most women who attend general practice believe that women should receive fertility-awareness education when they first report trouble conceiving. Further research is needed to determine how best to do this.