Happy Labor Day!
As we celebrate the contributions of workers throughout America, we at FACTS also recognize the importance of a healthy balance between work and family life. Just as we encourage young people to prepare for their future careers by taking the necessary steps to achieve their professional goals, we also want to encourage them to consider their future desires for a family and plan accordingly. Infertility rates are rising: 1 in 5 American women of reproductive age struggle with infertility. [1] As more women focus on careers and additional schooling, some couples choose to delay starting a family, which may affect their ability to have children.
“Just as we encourage young people to prepare for their future careers by taking the necessary steps to achieve their professional goals, we also want to encourage them to consider their future desires for a family and plan accordingly.”
For these women and couples, introducing the topic of reproductive life planning earlier on can guide later decisions regarding their fertility. A reproductive life plan, which incorporates discussion of fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs), can serve as a practical aid in family-planning counseling since FABMs can be used both to prevent and attempt to achieve pregnancy.
A reproductive life plan is a tool designed to help women and men identify their reproductive goals over their lifetimes, as well as take steps to achieve these goals. [2] With detailed questions, this tool is designed to provoke thought about their fertility and future parenthood. By facilitating conversations about family-planning goals, a reproductive life plan can equip patients to take appropriate steps to prepare to have children in the future.
“A reproductive life plan is a tool designed to help women and men identify their reproductive goals over their lifetimes, as well as take steps to achieve these goals.”
We hope this research will inspire more physicians and clinicians to engage patients earlier in this crucial conversation, increasing patient awareness of the fertile window and family-planning implications. To learn more about reproductive life planning, we invite you to hear Dr. Danielle Miller speak about this topic at our pre-conference at the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) meeting in Philadelphia, PA, on Thursday, September 19th. Whether or not you are able to join us, please make a donation of $75 or more to sponsor a student scholarship.
References
[1] LCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 14). Women’s reproductive health. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/women-health/index.html
[2] Tydén T, Verbiest S, Van Achterberg T, Larsson M, Stern J. Using the Reproductive Life Plan in contraceptive counselling. Ups J Med Sci. 2016;121(4):299-303. doi:10.1080/03009734.2016.1210267.
