Girls as young as nine should be given tips on how to get pregnant in later life, a leading doctor has said.

Girls as young as nine should be given tips on how to get pregnant in later life, a leading doctor has said.

I’m discussing this suggestion by Dr.Balen on BBC Radio Surrey & Sussex at 10.10 on Monday 11th July. Join us – what are your thoughts I’d love to hear them.

Prof Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said schools needed to “start early” in promoting messages about how best to maximise their chances of having a family.

The hospital consultant said too many girls were ignorant of the factors that could affect their later fertility, and of the dangers of leaving it too late to start a family.

“We need to be educating and informing young people much more about fertility,” he said.

“The messages have to be upbeat – we should be starting this, pre-puberty around the age of nine or 10, when they are mature enough to start understanding these issues,” he added.

“The key things that need to be part of this conversation are about the need for a healthy diet, a healthy body weight, doing enough exercise and most importantly not smoking.”

Calling for fertility lessons to become part of the national curriculum, he said it was important not to “dilute the message” that teenage girls should avoid pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections.

However, he said this needed to be balanced with encouraging school pupils to plan for their futures.

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