Skip to main content
Download PDF

Fertility knowledge, childbearing intentions and attitudes towards social egg freezing: A study of female students of a private university in Kumasi, Ghana

BMC Women's Health volume 24, Article number: 553 (2024) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

As women increasingly delay childbearing for educational and career pursuits, understanding the age-related decline in ovarian reserve becomes crucial to avoid infertility. Egg freezing offers a solution, extending the window for achieving pregnancy with a biological child. However, awareness and acceptance of age-related fertility decline and elective egg freezing vary across countries and social groups.

Methods

This descriptive cross-sectional study investigates fertility awareness, childbearing intentions, and attitudes toward elective egg freezing among 138 undergraduate female students at a private university in Kumasi, Ghana. Data were collected via a Google App-based questionnaire.

Results

The majority of respondents were below 28 years old (76.3%), Christians (79.26%), and single (57. 78%). Many respondents overestimated their knowledge of age-related fertility decline, with almost half (48.89%) incorrectly believing it occurs after age 40. Primary sources of fertility education included health professionals, the Internet, and television. While most (62.96%) considered childbearing necessary, they would not have a child without a partner. Acceptance of donor egg in vitro fertilisation (IVF) varied based on circumstances, and a significant portion was open to donating their eggs (41.48%). Awareness of elective egg freezing was low, but nearly half (48.89%) expressed interest in it, primarily to retain the option for a biological child. The cost of elective egg freezing was a significant deterrent.

Conclusions

The study revealed a significant lack of awareness regarding age-related fertility decline and elective egg freezing among female university students in Kumasi. Most prefer having a biological child only with a partner. While few were open to donating their eggs or accepting the same to achieve a pregnancy, interest in elective egg freezing was notable, albeit hindered by cost. The study recommends enhanced education by health professionals using social media and television to address these gaps.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Globally, many women are postponing marriage and childbearing due to various factors such as economic challenges, pursuing higher education, acquiring trade skills, and advancing their careers [1, 2]. A few decades ago, early or child marriages were prevalent in Africa, including Ghana, with multiple births being common. However, there is evidence suggesting a shift towards delayed marriages and childbirth in these regions. For instance, the median age of the timing of the onset of parenthood among women of reproductive age in Ghana increased from 17 years in 1998 to 19 years in 2014 [3, 4]. These delays can stem from voluntary choices or involuntary circumstances, contributing to issues of infertility. In rural Ghana, for instance, infertility affects approximately 11.8% of women and 15.8% of men, underscoring the significance of these trends [5].

Women are becoming increasingly aware of their age-related fertility decline and the potential to expand their reproductive lifespan through elective egg freezing using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) [6,7,8].

Fertility preservation through egg freezing does not require sperm at the time of egg collection. Therefore, women who freeze their eggs for social reasons save themselves the pressure of looking for a suitable partner while their biological clocks tick. They can also pursue their professional and career goals while maintaining the potential to have a biological child through IVF treatment when advanced in age.

Despite the devastating consequences of infertility or childlessness, few women have adequate knowledge about its causes [9,10,11,12,13], especially the decline of ovarian reserve with age [1, 14, 15]. This lack of awareness of the age-related decline in fertility can lead to unnecessary delays in childbearing, depletion of ovarian reserve, and childlessness [16]. The risk of involuntary childlessness increases with age from 2 to 3% for women under 30 years to 36% for those over 40 years [17].

Egg freezing for non–medical reasons, also called elective egg freezing or social egg freezing, if done for social reasons such as being single or without a suitable partner, has become increasingly common [11, 18,19,20]. Even though it helps women prolong their reproductive life span, it is associated with some misconceptions and stigmatisation [21].

Knowledge and acceptance rate of egg freezing varies globally [22]. It offers better outcomes for live births when the woman is less than 35 [23,24,25]. However, most women become aware of fertility preservation opportunities only after age 35 [15, 18, 21, 26, 27]. Egg freezing is more acceptable among the younger generation than the old, with a 40–85% range [18, 28, 29]. Older women consider women who freeze their eggs selfish and greedy [18, 21]. The cost of elective egg freezing is prohibiting for many eligible and desirous women [15, 21, 28, 30, 31].

Appropriate and timely health education can prevent delays in childbearing and the need for elective egg freezing. With awareness and wherewithal, women in many developed countries have avoided childlessness by freezing their eggs early [27, 32].

There is a paucity of data on the awareness of Ghanaian women about their age-related decline in fertility and the opportunity to prolong their reproductive life span through egg freezing. The knowledge of Ghanaian women about elective egg freezing, its cost, and its success rates, as well as the factors that would influence them to consider fertility preservation for social reasons, has not been explored.

Most university students are single and will soon have to choose between marriage and childbearing, career progression, and pursuing higher academic qualifications. These choices, if uninformed, could lead to childlessness. Awareness of infertility and its causes and the opportunity to prolong their reproductive lifespan through elective egg freezing would influence their choices positively. A well-informed graduate could be a community ambassador for elective egg freezing.

Aim of the study

This study aimed to determine fertility knowledge, childbearing intentions, and attitudes toward elective egg freezing among female undergraduate students in Kumasi. It addressed the following research questions: (a) What is the level of awareness of age-related diminishing ovarian reserve and social egg freezing among college students in Kumasi? (b) What are the intentions of these college students towards childbearing and their careers? (c) What are the attitudes of Ghanaian students to childbearing with donor or frozen eggs?

The findings of this study provide baseline data on the level of awareness of young Ghanaian women about their natural decline of fertility and its preservation as they advance in age and defer childbearing. Our study serves as the model for future research on the subject. It also provides fertility doctors in Ghana with some reference material on Ghanaians’ information gaps and concerns for essential policy proposals, education, and advocacy on social egg freezing.

Methods

Study design

The study utilised a cross-sectional design and investigated female students’ fertility knowledge, childbearing intentions, and attitudes toward social egg freezing at Garden City University College (GCUC), Kenyasi, in Kumasi, Ghana. Kumasi is the capital city of the Ashanti Region and the second largest city in Ghana. It has a population of 3,490,000 people (2021). The city has three public and five private universities, including the GCUC. We conveniently chose this private university because it was familiar territory for many key authors of this article. It was established in 2001 and is one of the prominent private universities in Kumasi. The university offers undergraduate programmes in business, health and applied sciences. The study included 18 to 42-year-old levels 300 and 400 female nursing and midwifery students who were single, married, or separated without biological children or those who retained the desire for more children in the future despite having a child or children in a previous relationship. The data were collected between 1st and 30th April 2023. We selected the level 300 and 400 students over the juniors in levels 100 and 200 because the seniors were about to complete school and were more likely to be making decisions on childbearing, marriage or education and career progression sooner. The authors visited the classes to explain the study aims and rationale to the students. Subsequently, we sent a Google App-based structured questionnaire (available as supplementary material s1) developed from previously validated questionnaires [18, 21] with open and closed-ended questions through WhatsApp Class Group Pages of levels 300 and 400 female students to collect data. Even though our determined sample size was 133, we could not pre-determine how many students would consent and respond to the questionnaire since this was an online survey. Therefore, the questionnaire was sent to the two classes’ group WhatsApp pages to target al.l female students who met the inclusion criteria. However, the students were requested not to send the data-gathering questionnaires outside the year group pages. After opening the Google-based form sent to them by WhatsApp, they received a pop-up with respondent information, indicating that they had given their informed consent by proceeding to fill out the form. Only those who consented could proceed to answer the questionnaire. We received 138 responses.

Ethical approval, Ref: CHRPE/AP/057/24, was obtained from the Committee for Human Research, Publications and Ethics (CHRPE) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Informed consent to participate was obtained from all participants, as they were required to acknowledge their consent by proceeding to fill out the Google-based form after reviewing the respondent information provided. Only those who consented were able to complete the questionnaire.

Sample size

We used Slovin’s formula to calculate the sample size for this study.

$$\:n=\frac{N}{(1+N{e}^{2})}$$

Where.

‘n’ is the estimated sample size for a finite population, N is the population size, and ‘e’ is the margin of error taken as 5% [33].

The estimated sample size thus, n = N / (1 + Ne2): gives; n = 200/1 + 200(0.05)2. This gives an estimated sample size of 133 participants.

$$\:n=\frac{200}{{1+200\left(0.005\right)}^{2}}$$
$$\:n=\frac{200}{1+200\left(0.00025\right)}$$
$$\:n=133.33$$

The sample size for an unknown population, no= 133.

Adjusting for an estimated non-response rate (incomplete data) of 5% gives 5(100)/133 = 6.65 non-response.

This gives a final sample size of 133 + 7 = 140 participants.

Instrument

To evaluate knowledge, childbearing intentions, and attitudes about social egg freezing, we utilised a structured questionnaire developed from previously validated instruments with open and closed-ended questions [3, 4]. The questionnaire sampled answers from four (4) areas: socio-demographics (Table 1), fertility awareness (Table 2), childbearing intentions (Table 3; Fig. 2), and attitude toward elective egg freezing (Tables 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).

The instrument was pre-tested on a small group of graduate students for clarity and wording.

Data analysis

STATA. Version 17 was used for the analysis of data. Descriptive statistics were computed for each question. A chi-square analysis was done to determine an association between sociodemographic characteristics and the likelihood of freezing eggs for non-medical reasons (Table 4). All tests were conducted at 5% significance level with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Sociodemographic characteristics of respondents

Table 1 contains a summary of the sociodemographic characteristics of respondents. Of the 138 students surveyed, 135 respondents accurately answered the questionnaires, resulting in a non-response rate of 2.2%.

Table 1 A summary of their sociodemographic characteristics
Full size table

Knowledge of age-related fertility decline

Almost two out of three (65.19%) respondents claimed adequate knowledge of age-related fertility and infertility issues. About three-quarters (74.81%) knew that ovarian reserve reduces as they age, and 71.11% believed women were most fertile in their early to late twenties. However, only a little more than one-third, 37.04%, of the respondents were worried about their advancing age and ability to have children. A similar number, 36.30%, had already sought consultation for fertility.

About half (48.89%) of the respondents thought a woman’s egg number declined most prominently within the ages of 40–44 compared to only a few, 12.59%, who otherwise correctly believed the decline is most prominent between 35 and 39 years (Table 2).

Table 2 Knowledge of age-related fertility decline
Full size table

Sources of health information

The primary sources of information for respondents on fertility knowledge were health professionals (33.33%), the Internet (30.37%), and television (14.81%). Radio was the least source of information (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Source of information

Full size image

Childbearing intentions

Table 3 shows the responses of student participants concerning their future family goals. Almost 9 out of 10 (88.89%) students planned to have children. Three out of four (74.81%) respondents indicated that childbearing was important to them, but about two out of three (62.96%) would not have a child without a partner. Over three-quarters (75.56%) of respondents planned their first child at age 25–29 (Fig. 2), and only about half (50.37%) wished to have their last child at age 31–35. Almost all (96.30%) respondents were confident about having their desired number of children in the future; about three out of four (71.85%) would seek fertility treatment if they could not have children. Only 7 (5.19%) would consider remaining childless.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Desired ages for a first child

Full size image
Table 3 Childbearing intentions
Full size table

Association between sociodemographic characteristics of female students and attitudes towards social egg-freezing

The study revealed a marginally significant statistical association between only the level of study and attitude towards social egg freezing, with p-values of 0.050 (Table 4).

Table 4 Association between sociodemographic characteristics of female students and attitudes towards social egg-freezing
Full size table

Attitude toward social egg freezing

Awareness of social egg freezing

More than half, 76 (56.3%) of respondents had heard about social egg freezing, mainly from the media (47.37%) (Table 5).

Table 5 Awareness of Social Egg freezing
Full size table

Factors that will influence a decision to consider social egg freezing

The desire to have a biological child was the most important reason for which almost half (48.89%) of participants would likely or very likely consider social egg freezing. The cost of elective egg freezing was the reason more than half (51.11%) would likely or very likely not consider elective egg freezing (Table 6).

Table 6 Factors that will influence a decision to consider Social Egg freezing
Full size table

Factors that will influence a decision to donate eggs for IVF

About 4 out of 10 (41.48%) participants would be willing to donate their eggs to an anonymous recipient (Table 7).

Table 7 Factors that will influence a decision to Donate Eggs for IVF
Full size table

Factors that will influence a decision to consider using donated eggs for IVF

Almost half (47.41%) of the participants would accept donated eggs for IVF if it were the only option for childbearing. Only about a third (32.59%) of participants would be willing to use donated eggs to achieve a pregnancy for the sake of their husbands. The absence of a genetic connection with the child was the main reason 40% of respondents would likely or very likely not accept donated eggs for IVF. More than a third (37.78%) of respondents who already had a child were not willing to use donated eggs for IVF (Table 8).

Table 8 Factors that will influence a decision to consider using Donated Eggs for IVF
Full size table

Discussion

We sought the ‘respondents’ knowledge of age-related fertility decline. Evidence from the study suggests that overall, there was a lack of knowledge regarding age-related fertility decline among the students. Even though two out of three (65.19%) respondents claimed adequate knowledge of age-related fertility and infertility issues, the evidence in this study proved contrary to this claim as about half (48.89%) of the respondents wrongly thought that the age-related decline in a woman’s egg number and quality becomes most prominent within the age range of 40–44. This finding was consistent with a similar study conducted in Nigeria in which respondents overestimated the ages of slight and marked decline in female fertility [34]. This lack of knowledge on age-related decline in ovarian reserve and fertility may encourage voluntary delay in childbearing with the costly consequence of infertility from depletion of ovarian reserve. Consequently, almost all (96.3%) of the respondents were very confident about having their desired number of children in the future, while only a little more than one-third were worried about their advancing age and ability to have children. The lack of knowledge and concern over the age-related decline in fertility may be attributed to the youthful age of the respondents.

While in this study, health professionals, the Internet, and television were the primary sources of knowledge on age-related decline in fertility, women in Nigeria, Denmark, and the UK were informed through families, friends, the media, and common knowledge [9, 34]. This implies that the most effective means of impacting young Ghanaian women concerning age-related decline in fertility will be disseminating relevant information on the subject through health professionals, social media and television. Childbearing intentions also varied drastically between the respondents. Almost 9 out of 10 of the respondents in this study planned to have children. This finding is comparable to the conclusions of a similar survey in Saudi Arabia, where 8 out of 10 undergraduate students expressed the desire to have children [35]. Most students in this study hoped to have 4–6 children in the future, starting from their late 20s and ending in mid-30s. They would have completed their family before age 35, after which age-related decline in fertility is most pronounced. This outcome was consistent with similar research in Sweden [36]. Most of the students in this study (74.81%) indicated that it would be crucial to have children and were willing to seek fertility treatment if they could not achieve a pregnancy. This finding contrasts with a survey conducted in Iraq, which reported the majority of undergraduate students opting for adoption so that they could concentrate on their careers [37]. Differences in the two countries’ cultural values on childbearing may explain this disparity.

We found out that while only one out of four (25.19%) of the students considered donating oocytes to a woman they know, 41.48% considered doing so anonymously to help infertile couples/women conceive a child. It implies that if the young women in this study were called upon to donate their eggs to help another woman achieve a pregnancy, they would prefer to do so anonymously. This finding contrasts with a study conducted in Belgium in which the exact proportion of women (40.2%) in their reproductive ages considered donating their eggs to a woman they know, and 26.9% considered doing so anonymously [21].

The proportion of women who would likely consider egg freezing for non-medical reasons ranged between 18.52 and 48.89%, with the opportunity to prolong a biological lifespan being the reason about half of the women would consider doing so. However, the cost of elective egg freezing would prohibit the same number of respondents from preserving their fertility, and this finding resonates with the works done by Mertes & Pennings [38]. It is pretty revealing and assuring that, in this predominantly Christian and Islamic country, religion (17.78%) did not appear to be a significant barrier to social egg-freezing, with only less than 2 out of 10 women being unlikely to consider egg-freezing for religious reasons. However, a considerable proportion (34.08%) of the women were unlikely to consider social egg freezing for fear of their babies being abnormal. This finding implies that Ghanaians working in reproductive health have a big responsibility to defuse the myth about the association between abnormal babies and Assisted Reproductive Technology among Ghanaian women.

Conclusion

The majority of participants in this study were young, single Christians who tended to overestimate their knowledge of fertility issues, particularly regarding age-related decline in fertility and elective egg freezing. Their primary sources of information were health professionals, the Internet, and television.

While most respondents valued childbearing highly, they were reluctant to pursue parenthood without a partner. Few indicated willingness to donate eggs or accept donor eggs, often citing concerns about genetic ties. However, many expressed interest in egg freezing to preserve their reproductive options, though cost emerged as a significant barrier.

Limitations and recommendations

The authors acknowledge that convenience sampling could introduce a selection bias and limit the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the small sample size further limits the extent to which the results can be generalised to the broader population, as it did not allow for rigorous analysis. Despite these limitations, the present study provides valuable preliminary insights that can inform future, larger-scale research. It is recommended that a qualitative study with larger sample size or a larger-scale mixed method study is conducted to allow for in-depth analysis and provide more insight into young women’s perceptions about social egg freezing.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ART:

Assisted Reproductive Technology

ET:

Embryo Transfer

CHRPE:

Committee on Human Research, publications and Ethics

IVF:

In-Vitro Fertilization

ICSI:

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

GCUC:

Garden City University College

References

  1. Bretherick KL, Fairbrother N, Avila L, Harbord SH, Robinson WP. Fertility and ageing: do reproductive-aged Canadian women know what they need to know? Fertil Steril. 2010;93(7):2162–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Friese C, Becker G, Nachtigall RD. Rethinking the biological clock: eleventh-hour moms, miracle moms and meanings of age-related infertility. Soc Sci Med. 2006;63(6):1550–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Odame ML. Delayed Marriage and Fertility Transition in Ghana. ugspace.ug.edu.gh. 2018. Available from: https://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/items/01ab157a-8cdd-4623-bc66-a48a564cb188.

  4. Baruwa OJ, Amoateng YA. Sociodemographic correlates and trends in the timing of the onset of parenthood among women of reproductive age in Ghana: evidence from three waves of the demographic and health surveys. F1000Research. 2023;12:157.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Geelhoed DW, Nayembil D, Asare K, van Schagen JH, van Roosmalen J. Infertility in rural Ghana. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2002;79(2):137–42.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Boivin J, Rice F, Hay D, Harold G, Lewis A, van den Bree MM, et al. Associations between maternal older age, family environment and parent and child wellbeing in families using assisted reproductive techniques to conceive. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68(11):1948–55.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fritz MA, Speroff L. Clinical gynecologic endocrinology and infertility. Translated by: Valadan M, Faghani Jadidi N. Tehran: Argomand book. 2013. p. 70–311.

  8. Technology SfAR. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Assisted reproductive technology in the United States: 2001 results generated from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Fertil Steril. 2007;87(6):1253–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lallemant C, Vassard D, Nyboe Andersen A, Schmidt L, Macklon N. Medical and social egg freezing: internet-based survey of knowledge and attitudes among women in Denmark and the UK. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2016;95(12):1402–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lampic C, Svanberg AS, Karlström P, Tydén T. Fertility awareness, intentions concerning childbearing, and attitudes towards parenthood among female and male academics. Hum Reprod. 2006;21(2):558–64.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lockwood GM. Social egg freezing: the prospect of reproductive ‘immortality’or a dangerous delusion? Reprod Biomed Online. 2011;23(3):334–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Almeida-Santos T, Melo C, Macedo A, Moura-Ramos M. Are women and men well informed about fertility? Childbearing intentions, fertility knowledge and information-gathering sources in Portugal. Reproductive Health. 2017;14:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. García D, Vassena R, Trullenque M, Rodríguez A, Vernaeve V. Fertility knowledge and awareness in oocyte donors in Spain. Patient Educ Counselling. 2015;98(1):96–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Maeda E, Sugimori H, Nakamura F, Kobayashi Y, Green J, Suka M, et al. A cross-sectional study on fertility knowledge in Japan, measured with the Japanese version of Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale (CFKS-J). Reprod Health. 2015;12:1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Tozzo P, Fassina A, Nespeca P, Spigarolo G, Caenazzo L. Understanding social oocyte freezing in Italy: a scoping survey on university female students’ awareness and attitudes. Life Sci Soc Policy. 2019;15:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bell K. Constructions of infertility and some lived experiences of involuntary childlessness. Affilia. 2013;28(3):284–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. van Loendersloot LL, Moolenaar LM, Mol BWJ, Repping S, van der Veen F, Goddijn M. Expanding reproductive lifespan: a cost-effectiveness study on oocyte freezing. Hum Reprod. 2011;26(11):3054–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Daniluk J, Koert E. Childless women’s beliefs and knowledge about oocyte freezing for social and medical reasons. Hum Reprod. 2016;31(10):2313–20.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Wolff M, Germeyer A, Nawroth F. Fertility preservation for non-medical reasons. Deutsches Ärzteblatt Int. 2015;112(3):27–32.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lewis EI, Missmer SA, Farland LV, Ginsburg ES. Public support in the United States for elective oocyte cryopreservation. Fertil Steril. 2016;106(5):1183–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Stoop D, Nekkebroeck J, Devroey P. A survey on the intentions and attitudes towards oocyte cryopreservation for non-medical reasons among women of reproductive age. Hum Reprod. 2011;26(3):655–61.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Santo EVE, Dieamant F, Petersen CG, Mauri AL, Vagnini LD, Renzi A, et al. Social oocyte cryopreservation: a portrayal of Brazilian women. JBRA Assist Reprod. 2017;21(2):101.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. von Wolff M, Germeyer A, Liebenthron J, Korell M, Nawroth F. Practical recommendations for fertility preservation in women by the Ferti PROTEKT network. Part II: fertility preservation techniques. Archives Gynecol Obstet. 2018;297:257–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Paramanantham J, Talmor AJ, Osianlis T, Weston GC. Cryopreserved oocytes: update on clinical applications and success rates. Obstetrical Gynaecol Surv. 2015;70(2):97–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Levi-Setti PE, Patrizio P, Scaravelli G. Evolution of human oocyte cryopreservation: slow freezing versus vitrification. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2016;23(6):445–50.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Gook DA. History of oocyte cryopreservation. Reprod Biomed Online. 2011;23(3):281–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Milman LW, Senapati S, Sammel MD, Cameron KD, Gracia C. Assessing reproductive choices of women and the likelihood of oocyte cryopreservation in the era of elective oocyte freezing. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(5):1214–22.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Baldwin K. Conceptualising women’s motivations for social egg freezing and experience of reproductive delay. Sociol Health Illn. 2018;40(5):859–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Wennberg AL, Rodriguez-Wallberg KA, Milsom I, Brännström M. Attitudes towards new assisted reproductive technologies in Sweden: a survey in women 30–39 years of age. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2016;95(1):38–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Ikhena-Abel DE, Confino R, Shah NJ, Lawson AK, Klock SC, Robins JC, et al. Is employer coverage of elective egg freezing coercive? A survey of medical students’ knowledge, intentions, and attitudes towards elective egg freezing and employer coverage. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017;34:1035–41.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Hodes-Wertz B, Druckenmiller S, Smith M, Noyes N. What do reproductive-age women who undergo oocyte cryopreservation think about the process as a means to preserve fertility? Fertil Steril. 2013;100(5):1343–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Tan SQ, Tan AWK, Lau MSK, Tan HH, Nadarajah S. Social oocyte freezing: a survey among Singaporean female medical students. J Obstet Gynecol Res. 2014;40(5):1345–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Tejada JJ, Punzalan JRB. On the misuse of Slovin’s formula. Philippine Stat. 2012;61(1):129–36.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Abiodun O, Alausa K, Olasehinde O. Ignorance could hurt: an assessment of fertility awareness, childbirth intentions and parenting attitudes among university students. Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2018;30(2):20160091.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Alfaraj S, Aleraij S, Morad S, Alomar N, Al Rajih H, Alhussain H, et al. Fertility awareness, intentions concerning childbearing, and attitudes toward parenthood among female health professions students in Saudi Arabia. Int J Health Sci. 2019;13(3):34.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Sørensen NO, Marcussen S, Backhausen MG, Juhl M, Schmidt L, Tydén T, et al. Fertility awareness and attitudes towards parenthood among Danish university college students. Reproductive Health. 2016;13:1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Khalil NS, Hassan IT, Saeed HD. Fertility awareness among medical and non-medical undergraduate university students in Al-Iraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq. Am J Med Sci Med. 2015;3(6):74–8.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Mertes H, Pennings G. Social egg freezing: for better, not for worse. Reprod Biomed Online. 2011;23(7):824–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the participants who consented and contributed to the success of this study.

Funding

No external funding was either sought or obtained for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hallmark Medicals, Plot 38D Block D, Ghana Post GPS. AK – 245, P.O. Box UP 1973, Kumasi, 6868, Ghana

    Millicent Osaah, Francis Jojo Moses Kodzo Damalie, Herbert Ekoe Dankluvi & Elikplim Adzo Damalie

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Francis Jojo Moses Kodzo Damalie & Charles Mawunyo Senaya

  3. Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Vida Maame Kissiwaa Amoah

  4. Directorate of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana

    Charles Mawunyo Senaya

  5. Research and Development Unit, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana

    Beatrice Yeboah

  6. Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, School of Medicine, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

    David Zawumya Kolbilla

Authors
  1. Millicent Osaah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francis Jojo Moses Kodzo Damalie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vida Maame Kissiwaa Amoah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charles Mawunyo Senaya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Herbert Ekoe Dankluvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Beatrice Yeboah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. Elikplim Adzo Damalie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  8. David Zawumya Kolbilla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

MO, EAD, FJMKD and CMS conceptualized the proposal. MO, VMKA, HED, BY, FJMKD and DZK were involved in the project design, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation. MO, VMKA, EAD, HED, BY, FJMKD and CMS wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francis Jojo Moses Kodzo Damalie.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

In this study, all methods adhered to the guidelines and regulations outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval, CHRPE/AP/057/24, was obtained from the Committee on Human Research, Publications, and Ethics (CHRPE) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), School of Medical Sciences. Participation in the study was voluntary, and all communication on social media emphasised the anonymity of the survey and the non-collection of personal information from participants. Before beginning the study, participants were directed to a homepage outlining the project’s summary and inclusion criteria. They were informed of their right to exit by proceeding to the final page. Upon electronically agreeing to participate by ticking a consent box, participants could commence the online survey. The survey concluded with a ‘Submit’ button, accompanied by a reminder that participants could only finalise their participation by clicking it. Informed consent was obtained from all participants through the electronic consent process prior to their participation in the survey.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Osaah, M., Damalie, F.J.M.K., Amoah, V.M.K. et al. Fertility knowledge, childbearing intentions and attitudes towards social egg freezing: A study of female students of a private university in Kumasi, Ghana. BMC Women's Health 24, 553 (2024). https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s12905-024-03387-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s12905-024-03387-3

Keywords

BMC Women's Health

ISSN: 1472-6874

Contact us