Image credit: the Get Britain Fertile campagin featuring British TV presenter Kate Garraway
Would an image of a wrinkly old pregnant woman get you thinking about your fertility sooner? That's the hope of the confronting British ad campaign, "Get Britain Fertile" sponspored by pregnancy test First Repsonse.
The photos above are of 46-year-old British TV presenter Kate Garraway dressed up to look like a "heavily pregnant 70-year-old". The ads are designed to shock, but will they work?
In Australia the percentage of women having babies in their forties – according to data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) – has increased from 17.5 percent in 2001 to 23 per cent a decade later. The UK has chosen to take such drastic action because according to the campaign, British women delay motherhood longer than any other country in the world.
The "Get Britian Fertile" campaign focuses on helping couples improve their chances of conception by offering diet advice, exercise tips and sex education. It will involve a national roadshow and a website.
First Response began their campaign by surveying British women to discover their attitudes towards older mothers. The survey showed nearly 70 per cent of British women think having a baby in your forties is too old and it's the older generations doing most of the finger-wagging. Apparently those surveyed say having children between the ages of 20 and 30 is ideal.
Critics of the campaign say women delay motherhood for many reasons such as early fertility issues, financial considerations and not finding the right partner. The Huffington Post reports fellow British TV presenter Katie Hopkins as tweeting this:
Let's hope the "Get Britain Fertile" campaign includes a match-making service too them.
Does this campaign shame women into getting pregnant younger?
Television presenter Kate Garraway says, "I had my second child at 42 and never questioned at the time that it might be too old. But I do look back now and realise that leaving pregnancy late can be a risky bet as diminishing fertility can stack the odds against you."
"That's why I agreed to become ambassador to the campaign – I want to alert women to start thinking about their fertility at a younger age than our generation did. They should get prepared and make informed choices early so there is no chance of sleepwalking into infertility."
She added, “I know careers and finances seem important but you only have a small fertility window."
Would this campaign influence you?
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