12 hours ago
Half of those interested in starting a family are worried about their fertility — or their partner's
The National Women's Health Survey — commissioned by the Irish Examiner and carried out by market researchers Ipsos B&A — has found that, among women who have had a child or who are currently pregnant, one in five experienced fertility difficulties.
Four in five of these women sought medical advice in relation to their or their partner's infertility, while 52% had fertility treatment such as IVF.
About half of those interested in starting a family say they are worried or concerned about their fertility — or their partner's.
Of these, about one-fifth say they've already taken steps to assess their fertility — and two in three of the women who intend on starting a family would undergo fertility treatment such as IVF if they needed.
John Waterstone, medical director at Waterstone Clinic, is surprised that one in five women have pre-emptively taken steps to check out their fertility: 'I'm surprised, because these women haven't yet started their journey. They're just aware they might have difficulties. I'm quite encouraged that 20% have taken steps to investigate their fertility.'
It is in stark contrast to the lack of proactiveness he sees in men: 'We rarely see men who aren't currently trying for a baby wanting to check out their fertility. Once in a blue moon, a man with no children will ask: 'Can I have a sperm analysis test just to see if I'm OK?''
John Waterstone, medical director at Waterstone Clinic, is surprised that one in five women have pre-emptively taken steps to check out their fertility.
Waterstone says that as time passes, women are becoming more aware of fertility and fertility difficulties: 'Because of social media, these matters are discussed more than they used to be.'
But with just one in three survey respondents describing themselves as 'well-informed' about fertility, Waterstone confirms a rise in the number of women without children who present for the first time to his clinic when they are aged 40 and over.
'The percentage of women who come for a first visit when they're 40 or older is far higher now than it was 10 years ago,' he says.
'And as every year passes, we're seeing more of these women — it's distinctly worrying. Sometimes it works — with treatment, they manage to have a baby. Other times it doesn't, and sometimes donor eggs are the only way.
'The fundamental thing women need to know is they have a limited window of opportunity for having children compared to men. Men can dilly dally — they can still have children when they're 40 or 60. Once women get into their late 30s and 40s, their eggs are ageing. Opportunity for having children drops away sharply.'
One in three survey respondents say they would consider egg freezing — as opposed to one-fifth who disagree.
Waterstone Clinic is seeing 'significant demand' for egg freezing, with Waterstone adding: 'It now comprises something like 20% of all the treatments we do.'
How viable an option is it?
'That's the million dollar question,' says Waterstone, explaining that although technological advances have meant more reproducible success in egg freezing in recent years, it is still a difficult procedure to do successfully: 'It's technically challenging. You have to be very meticulous.'
It is difficult for clinics to know just how successful they are because of the time lag between freezing eggs and eventually thawing them out: 'Though we freeze hundreds of eggs every year, only a handful of women have thawed them out — probably less than 10. And more than half of those women [whose eggs we thawed out] are pregnant, or have had a baby.'
Caitríona Fitzpatrick, National Infertility Support and Information Group chairperson
Awareness of available options
Caitríona Fitzpatrick, National Infertility Support and Information Group, chairperson, says people are more aware today that options exist if they're experiencing fertility difficulties: 'We get a really broad mix contacting us — people considering IVF, right up to those looking at donor conception and surrogacy, the full gamut, They generally have done some research themselves — they come to us because they don't know anyone who has gone through it. We offer peer-to-peer support — speaking to someone who has already gone through a fertility journey.'
Fitzpatrick sees a lack of fertility education in Ireland: 'We're very good here on educating about contraception, which we weren't before. We don't really educate about fertility — despite at a very young age a lot of people knowing they'd someday like to be a parent.'
She says many who approach the group do not realise the age at which female fertility starts to decline, the length of time it can take to become pregnant, or what they and their partner can do to enhance their prospects: 'A lot of people say if they'd known fertility starts to decline at 35, they'd have started earlier, or been prepared for a longer journey.'
Fitzpatrick also finds that people still don't talk openly about fertility. 'We talk openly about having a baby but when issues come up with fertility — [despite] the amazing help available, the high number of successes every year — a huge number of people getting fertility treatment only tell one or two people.'
While 82% said they were positive about the use of fertility treatments to start a family, Fitzpatrick says the overall findings suggest a continuing measure of social taboo surrounding fertility: 'There's still a stigma about all of it.'
Click here to read our National Women's Health Survey.
The Irish Examiner Women's Health Survey 2025
Ipsos B&A designed and implemented a research project for the Irish Examiner involving a nationally representative sample of n=1,078 women over the age of 16 years.
The study was undertaken online with fieldwork conducted between April 30 and May 15, 2025.
The sample was quota controlled by age, socio-economic class, region and area of residence to reflect the known profile of women in Ireland based on the census of population and industry agreed guidelines.
Ipsos B&A has strict quality control measures in place to ensure robust and reliable findings; results based on the full sample carry a margin of error of +/-2.8%.
In other words, if the research was repeated identically results would be expected to lie within this range on 19 occasions out of 20.
A variety of aspects were assessed in relation to women's health including fertility, birth, menopause, mental health, health behaviour, and alcohol consumption.
