Calls for more positive health messaging around fertility

The language used to communicate fertility awareness should be more empathetic and target both men and women, finds a new study involving UCL researchers. The review, published in Human Reproduction Open , gives five recommendations on how to promote fertility awareness in a more positive way. While education about fertility is not intrinsically controversial, finding the right language to address the topic can be difficult - with the risk of causing negative effects such as anxiety, culpability, and stigma. After reviewing previous studies and literature on the subject, the team were particularly keen to resolve issues around language that could evoke feelings of personal blame, the marginalisation of those struggling to conceive and distress caused by focusing on idealised health situations. Consequently, they found that it was important to: Frame fertility awareness messages with reproductive autonomy in mind and aim to be inclusive of those who do not represent the traditional nuclear family. Tailor the messages to particular contexts and audiences and develop resources in close collaboration with the target groups. Professor Joyce Harper (UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health), founder and chair of the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration who wrote the paper said: "Wording messages about fertility in a way that people are willing to accept and without causing offense is a difficult balance.