How likely do you think it is that you are infertile?

We all know that preventing pregnancy starts with using contraception consistently and correctly…but what if you think you can’t get pregnant?  You probably wouldn’t bother with birth control, right? 

In her latest podcast, Laura Sessions Stepp explores this very idea; she visits a health class at Montgomery College in Maryland to talk to students about fertility.  Some of the students guessed that up to 25%  – one-quarter – of 20-somethings are infertile.  And, in The Fog Zone we learned that 59% of women believe that there’s a chance that they can’t easily get pregnant.  In fact, the number is much lower…actually, only about 8-11% of 20-somethings are infertile/have difficulty becoming pregnant.

So we started to wonder…it sounds like lots of young women (and men!) believe that they’re unable to get pregnant/ cause a pregnancy.   Are you one of them?

Myths are largely to blame for this skewed perception…never having gotten pregnant despite never or rarely using birth control, having had an abortion, smoking too much pot – these are all reasons that young people give for believing that they can’t have babies (and therefore, for why they don’t use birth control).  But often, these myths are just that – myths.

Tell us in the comments if you or one of your friends has ever believed a myth about being infertile.  What changed your mind?  Did you ever talk to a doctor to get your fertility tested?

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