Age-related fertility

14 NOVEMBER 2012

Question No. 753

Name of Person: Ms Tan Su Shan

Question

To ask the Minister for Health in light of most women marrying later in life (a)
how are Singaporean women being educated on age-related fertility decline; and
(b) whether the Women's Health Advisory Committee (WHAC) can be
expanded to fully include fertility issues.

Answer

Encouraging marriage and parenthood is a key Government priority to address the population challenge. The Government provides a broad range of measures to support Singaporeans’ aspirations of getting married and having children.

There is already general awareness among Singaporeans that fertility declines with age. The 2007 Marriage and parenthood survey of about 3,000 married respondents showed that 94% were aware that it gets more difficult for
couples to conceive as they get older, up from 89% in 2004.

More can and must be done to strengthen awareness of fertility issues and to transform awareness into changes in attitude and behaviour, so that couples are encouraged to get married and have children earlier. These messages are
best woven into marriage and parenthood promotion efforts by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in a holistic manner.

MSF has been working with voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to promote fertility awareness, which provides couples with fertility facts and information to help them make informed parenthood decisions and encourage them to plan early. This is done through public education programmes and activities, including talks, workshops, road shows, resource guides, as well as the sharing of real-life stories through publications and online media. It has also gone upstream to engage youths in tertiary institutions to raise the awareness of age-related fertility decline and the risks of late pregnancies. For couples already planning or expecting a baby, both MSF and HPB conduct programmes to equip and prepare them for pregnancy, as well as caring for their newborns. 

We recognise that having babies is not a woman’s sole decision, and involves a considered decision between husband and wife, taking many factors into consideration. Hence, MSF plays a leading role in promoting parenthood. However, to complement MSF’s efforts, the focus of the Women's Health Advisory Committee (WHAC) to promote the health of women could also include health issues related to sub-fertility in women, as part of a holistic women's health programme.