Nearly half of teenagers are worried about having children and many lack knowledge about their reproductive health, find two new studies by University College London researchers.
Nearly half of teenagers are worried about having children and many lack knowledge about their reproductive health, find two new studies by University College London researchers.
The studies, published in Human Fertility and Health Education Journal, used survey results from 931 students in England aged 16 to 18, collected between May 2021 and July 2022.
The Human Fertility paper found that a majority of students (64%) still wanted to have children in the future—with nearly half (49%) desiring to have two children.
However, 45% of all participants said that they had concerns about future parenthood—expressing their fears about their ability to have healthy offspring and the lives their children might lead.
When asked what their concerns were, the teenagers responded that fear, self-doubt, health and well-being, financial burdens, hindrance to personal aspirations and non-inclusive LGBTQ+ education all played a part in their anxieties.
For example, some students’ desire to have children was influenced by climate change, while others who identified within the LGBTQ+ community felt that the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) they received at school lacked inclusivity.
Meanwhile, the students who did not want children in the future (36%) cited reasons including negative associations with pregnancy and childbirth; parenthood apprehension; raising a child in a world with an uncertain future; considering alternative routes to parenthood; and finding children a nuisance.
