title: Fertility awareness in women attending a fertility clinic.
abstract: Eighty women attending for consultation at a tertiary referral fertility unit over a 3-month period were surveyed for their knowledge of fertility awareness and how they used this information to enhance their chances of conception. It was hypothesized that less than 50% of the subjects had an adequate understanding of when the fertile time occurred in their menstrual cycle. A questionnaire was completed anonymously by each subject and these were scored in 3 categories for fertility awareness by 2 independent Natural Family Planning teachers. Scores ranged from 0 for women who had no concept of fertility awareness, to 6 for women who were highly aware. The results showed that 26% (N = 21) of subjects had a score of 4 or greater which was considered as having an adequate understanding. The hypothesis was accepted, giving reason for concern about the effectiveness of consumer education at all levels of fertility investigation.
authors.affiliation: Fertility PLUS, National Women's Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bargiacchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: France
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gudex
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D012099:Reproductive Techniques / Q000523:psychology; D012731:Sex Counseling