Fertility and Fertility Preservation Knowledge in Portuguese Women
Description
This dataset was used in a study aimed to describe general fertility knowledge and factors affecting fertility, fertility preservation knowledge and attitudes, and the desire to access more information on this topic in a sample of reproductive-age Portuguese women. The sample comprised 257 Portuguese women aged between 18 and 45, single (77.4%) and nulliparous (87.5%). A questionnaire was developed explicitly for this study and disseminated through social media advertisements using an exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling method for data collection. The main reasons mentioned for postponing childbearing were career building/development (35%), financial stability (26.5%), and not having a partner (8.2%). Participants were aware of the impact of ageing, lifestyle, and sexual health factors on fertility but were not well-informed regarding the age range for fertility decline. They reported awareness of fertility preservation techniques (81.7%), but 68.9% showed no interest in using them. Most participants agreed that information about fertility and fertility preservation should be available. However, a meaningful percentage (38.1%) were not interested in having more information. The current study identified that more information regarding fertility and fertility preservation is relevant to ensure that more women can make informed decisions regarding their reproductive life.