Latest news with #NationalWomen'sHealthSurvey
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Why many women are deciding not to have a child
A new National Women's Health Survey, commissioned by the Irish Examiner and carried out by market researchers Ipsos B&A, found that, among women who are currently pregnant or who have had a child, one in five experienced fertility difficulties. Four in five of these women sought medical advice in relation to their infertility or their partner's, while 52% underwent fertility treatment such as IVF. A total of 1,078 women aged 18 and above responded to the survey. While 45% of the women who had had a child said they plan to have another, 49% said they don't want to. Galway woman Serena Matthew, who is in her early 40s, falls into that cohort: 'Two children were always in my head as an [ideal] number. I now have an 11-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. My husband would have loved a third, but we decided that after our second, it just wasn't an option.' Their decision was based on their finances. 'We saw the cost involved in bringing up two children. We've a four-bed house and the fourth bedroom is small, so we didn't have the space. Moving wasn't an option with prices going up. Two is what we could handle. We didn't want to put ourselves in a difficult position financially.' Matthew is not alone in her position. More than one in three National Women's Health Survey respondents report not feeling financially in a position to have a child, or another child. 11% disagree, and a large number 'don't know' or are unsure. Dr Dora Tuda, an ESRI research officer is not surprised by the finding that one-quarter of all women say they have delayed, or will delay, having children until they have reached certain financial or career goals — a thinking more characteristic of middle-class women. Tuda points out that nowadays, in Ireland, the EU and the US, more women than men hold a third-level degree: 'In Europe in 2022, 48% of women held a third-level degree compared to 37% of men. Why do people get a higher-level degree? To get a better job, a higher income. So if women are considering having a child, they also need to think about leaving the labour market for a while, which corresponds to some income loss.' While acknowledging that it sounds harsh, Tuda highlights what economists refer to as a 'child penalty' — the pay cut that having a child involves and that falls disproportionately on women. 'Even in Scandinavian countries — [considered] more 'equal' than other countries — women on average experience a 20% income loss after having a child compared to men with the same experience and qualifications. This is because of maternity leave — once they return to work, it takes time to catch up. They may lose chances of promotion.' Dr Dora Tuda, a research officer with the ESRI. Equality in leave In Ireland, parental leave is set up so women are more likely to take leave after having a child — 26 weeks paid maternity leave compared to two weeks paid paternity leave for fathers. 'The system is [such] that the income loss from having a child is taken on by women and not equally between men and women,' says Tuda, adding that Norway — and more recently Spain — are taking steps to counteract this. 'Spain has introduced a mandatory equal parental leave for both parents — they're each given six months. The mother takes the first six months, after which she returns to work, and the second parent takes the next six months. If the second parent doesn't take it, the leave goes away.' That more than one in three women here don't feel, financially, they could have a child, or another child, is also put in context, says Tuda, by the rising cost of child-rearing. 'Recent estimates from Laya Life say to raise a child up to age 21 costs €169,000.' However, delaying having children is not all down to cost. 'People are spending longer in education compared to earlier. They're also taking longer to reach job stability. Gap years abroad, unpaid internships — all valid decisions young people take to get ahead, to have better opportunities when seeking a more stable permanent job, but it also delays having children.' As do housing challenges — Tuda points out that in 10 years, the median age of buyers taking out residential property mortgages climbed by four years. 'In 2010, the median age was 33 years. In 2021, it was 37. Being older when buying property can automatically delay starting a family.' In the mix, too, says Tuda, is a sense of changing cultural norms — a move towards smaller families or even remaining childless. 'You hear this more often than you did 20 years ago.' Bonnie O'Halloran: 'One friend wants children with her boyfriend. But most people my age feel similarly to me. They don't fear pregnancy as I do — they focus more on the climate and financial aspect. None of us has stable enough careers to consider having kids. Most of us still live with our parents.' Picture: Moya Nolan Not wanting a child Of respondents to the National Women's Health Survey, who are aged under 50 and who have not yet had a child, 37% said it is unlikely they will have a child, and one-fifth are adamant they won't. One of these respondents — 25-year-old Bonnie O'Halloran from Naas — explains why, for a variety of reasons, she does not want to have children. For one, she suspects she has endometriosis — there is a family history — and she fears what pregnancy will do to her body. 'I've not wanted kids for as long as I can remember. Being a woman, it's said to you a lot — 'when will you have kids?' When you say you don't want that, you're told 'you will when you're older'. That didn't happen for me. My youngest brother was born when I was 11. I got to watch him growing up, and the responsibility of being there for another human being isn't something I wanted for myself.' 'I also saw what parenting did to my parents, not in any horrible way, but the things they had to give up. My mum went to college when she was 40 and I'm really proud of that but she couldn't do it sooner. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on myself.' Yet O'Halloran, who has a degree in illustration and currently works as a substitute teacher, loves children and thinks she might adopt when she's in her 40s. But she also sees the world's current political atmosphere, as well as climate and financial realities, as factors in deciding not to have children — a feeling she says many of her peers share: 'One friend wants children with her boyfriend. But most people my age feel similarly to me. They don't fear pregnancy as I do — they focus more on the climate and financial aspect. None of us has stable enough careers to consider having kids. Most of us still live with our parents.' While a recent CSO report indicates that our fertility rate is declining, Tuda confirms that, at 1.55 births per woman, it remains above the European average of 1.46. Among the under-50 survey respondents, who have yet to start a family, about two in five say they are 'definitely' or 'very likely' going to do so, with a further 10% saying they are 'quite likely'. 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.
Irish Examiner
14 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
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.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Miscarriage experience: ‘I felt like an inconvenience and received no support'
Support, information, and empathy can be hard to find for those who have experienced a miscarriage. That's according to the Irish Examiner and Ipsos B&A National Women's Health Survey, which revealed that six in 10 women who miscarried said the follow through from healthcare providers was poor. Waterford City native Roisin Healy was aged 19 when she experienced a miscarriage: 'I was 11 weeks pregnant, and I started getting bad pains. I went into the hospital where they did a scan — they said they couldn't find a heartbeat and there was nothing they could do. They told me to go home and relax.' This was in 2001, and Healy was alone — she'd just split with her partner and with little to no information, she was scared. This was her first and only pregnancy, so she didn't know what to expect. She recalls: 'The pains continued and then I started bleeding very heavily. I went back to the hospital. I'll always remember that the doctor who examined me asked me why I was so upset. I had to have a D&C [dilation and curettage], and I had to stay in the hospital that night after the procedure. They put me in a maternity ward, so I was in a room with pregnant women, which was traumatic for me, and upsetting for those women too.' This lack of sensitivity is not uncommon. A third of women in the survey who experienced a miscarriage said the empathy and sensitivity of healthcare professionals towards them was poor. Lack of support Nicola O'Connell from Dublin experienced a miscarriage in 2021. She'd had a successful pregnancy in 2020 through IVF and had one remaining embryo from that round of treatment. 'About a year after my daughter's birth, we decided to have the embryo transferred. So I started the cycle, and it all went well — I got pregnant. We were delighted,' says O'Connell. A follow-up home test confirmed her pregnancy, with the added information that she was just one week pregnant: 'By my calculations, it should have said four or five weeks. I called the fertility clinic the next morning, and they said to come in and they would do a blood test.' O'Connell dashed across Dublin City to the clinic. As she hadn't eaten that morning, there was a problem taking her blood. Nicola O'Connell. Photograph Moya Nolan The delay and uncertainty left her crying in the clinic's hallway: 'I was in an awful state. People were walking past me, and the receptionist just stared at me. I felt like an inconvenience and received no support.' They eventually managed to take her blood, and she returned to work, waiting for the results: 'I got a call around 3pm to say there was no pregnancy, and that I needed to come off all the medication I was on for that fertility cycle. My miscarriage was classed as an early or chemical miscarriage. I was told the doctor would call me within three to four weeks, but that call was all about the next round of treatment. Although the doctor kindly spoke to me about his own experience of miscarriage, there was no offer of counselling or psychological support.' This lack of dedicated support or counselling for couples who experience miscarriage was felt by 58% of those surveyed by the Irish Examiner. Although there were 14,000 miscarriages in Ireland in 2024 (20% of pregnancies), publicly available counselling has only recently commenced for recurrent miscarriages. In most cases, women or couples who see a counsellor have to do so privately, and at a cost not everyone can afford. The quality of care from healthcare providers was deemed poor by nearly half of those surveyed (46%). The results from the Irish Examiner survey reflect the status quo in this area for decades. For Jennifer Duggan, Miscarriage Association of Ireland chairperson, the figures align with the organisation's experience: 'They unfortunately tally with what we hear ourselves from women we speak with.' Jennifer Duggan, Chairperson of the Irish Miscarriage Association at her home in Carrigaline, Co. Cork. Picture: David Creedon But are changes starting to happen? 'There are definitely improvements being made, maybe not as fast as we would like to see change happening, but there are some improvements,' says Duggan. One such development is that some maternity hospitals around the country are relocating their early pregnancy loss clinics: 'That will mean women experiencing a miscarriage won't have to go and sit in a waiting room full of pregnant women, knowing that they're miscarrying. They can go to the pregnancy loss clinic off-site.' An Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) announcement on June 5 is another step forward. The IFPA has expanded its counselling service to include counselling for those who experience recurrent pregnancy loss. They can now be referred to specialist therapists at IFPA clinics nationwide by their local maternity hospital. Previously, the definition of recurrent miscarriage was three consecutive miscarriages. That definition was modified in Ireland in 2023 to encompass those who have experienced two consecutive miscarriages. Duggan says: 'The change means women can now access extra support and testing earlier, which is a significant improvement. Each miscarriage is a unique and painful loss, and the previous definition diminished the emotional impact of early pregnancy losses.' Together with gaining access to investigation, this shift in the definition of recurrent miscarriage means women in Ireland can now access eight free sessions of specialised counselling at the IFPA. Healy and O'Connell both struggled emotionally after their miscarriage experiences. 'The lack of psychological support offered to me was a real gap in the care I received after my miscarriage,' says O'Connell. Healy says: 'I felt alone and embarrassed during the whole thing. The lack of support and information meant I thought there was something wrong with me, and I was left uncertain if I could ever have a child.' Healy did not go on to have children. Information gaps The quality of information given to women either during or after a miscarriage is poor, according to 49% of the women surveyed. Healy was simply given a phone number she could call if she had questions, but otherwise, she was sent home with little idea of what to expect. Duggan explains: 'It can be really hard when you don't know what to expect. You might be told that you may bleed heavily, but you don't know how heavy is too heavy, or how painful is too painful. It can be really frightening to go through that with little to no information.' But green shoots are emerging in the area of follow-up care. In April, University College Cork's pregnancy loss research group made a series of resources available to women who experience miscarriages or recurrent miscarriages. These include booklets with accessible and comprehensive information, answering questions such as what happens next, what supports are available — as well as details of other women's lived experiences. All the resources are also on pregnancy loss website: The group has also developed healthcare providers information so they can give more sensitive and consistent support to women, including a checklist emergency department staff can use when people initially present with miscarriage signs. 'It is excellent to have this new dedicated website for pregnancy loss, where women can go and know the information is fact-based,' says Duggan, who is also a member of the Re:current research advisory group, which the Health Research Board funds to evaluate recurrent miscarriage services in Ireland. Cork University Maternity Hospital consultant obstetrician professor Keelin O'Donoghue — who spearheads the pregnancy loss research group — has called on decision makers to implement a new model of care for people who experience miscarriages. The group is proposing people experiencing their first miscarriage get infor-mation, be told about peer support groups, screened for risk factors, and referred to other services as needed: 'Implementing our proposed model of care would help to ensure that people receive an agreed standard of care, regardless of where they live or are looked after and regardless of their financial means, which would be tailored to their individual needs.' For decades, women and couples who experience miscarriages in Ireland have been left to fend for themselves, with little to no support. Though the situation on the ground remains difficult for many of the 14,000 women who experience a miscarriage each year, there are seeds of change, which signal hope for organisations like the Miscarriage Association of Ireland. 'Change might be a little bit slower than we'd like, but it's important that things are done right from the start,' says Duggan. 'If that happens, there's a chance that the changes will succeed, become embedded, and that is vital.' 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.
