Research by Nurse Bec Moore.

At the 2026 ASPIRE Congress 2026 in Beijing, one of the world’s leading meetings in reproductive medicine and fertility care, Our Care Fertility Nurse, Bec Moore, presented research exploring how fertility education is currently taught within Australian and New Zealand medical schools.

The presentation highlighted a striking disconnect: while delayed childbearing is increasingly common among doctors and healthcare professionals, fertility-related education remains limited and inconsistently addressed within many undergraduate medical programs.
The research also identified strong recognition of the importance of fertility education, alongside growing interest in more structured, evidence-based teaching approaches for future clinicians.

As trends toward delayed childbearing continue globally, these conversations are becoming increasingly relevant, both for patient care and for the healthcare workforce itself.


Q & A with Nurse Bec Moore.

1. Why do you think fertility education is still not consistently taught in many medical schools, despite fertility challenges becoming more common globally?

Medical curricula are already extremely crowded, so adding new content can be challenging. Historically, fertility awareness has often been viewed as a niche or specialist topic rather than a broader public health issue. However, with people having children later in life and increasing reliance on assisted reproductive technologies, fertility education is becoming far more relevant.


2. How could earlier conversations around fertility awareness help people make more informed decisions about family planning later in life?

Earlier education gives people the opportunity to make decisions from a place of knowledge rather than hindsight and anxiety. Fertility awareness is not about telling people when they should have children, it’s about helping them understand how age, reproductive health, and fertility treatment success rates can influence future options. Having access to accurate information earlier in life allows individuals to better align their personal, career, and family planning goals.



3. Did your research reveal any misconceptions or gaps in understanding around reproductive ageing among future healthcare professionals?

Yes. Both our previous work with medical students and the broader international literature identified consistent misconceptions around age-related fertility decline and IVF success rates. Many future healthcare professionals were aware that fertility declines with age, but still significantly overestimated the likelihood of natural conception and the ability of assisted reproductive technologies to overcome reproductive ageing.



4. Why is it important for healthcare professionals themselves to understand fertility and reproductive timelines not just for patient care, but personally as well?

Healthcare professionals are increasingly delaying childbearing due to the demands of training and career progression, which makes fertility education personally relevant for many within the profession. Understanding reproductive timelines can help individuals make informed decisions about their own reproductive health, while also improving their confidence and ability to provide accurate, evidence-based information to patients. It’s both a professional and personal health issue.


5. What changes would you hope to see in medical education over the next few years when it comes to fertility awareness and reproductive health education?

I would hope to see fertility awareness integrated more consistently into existing medical education, particularly within reproductive health, primary care, and women’s health teaching. Importantly, this education should be evidence-based, balanced, and clinically relevant.
I also think there is an opportunity to expand beyond traditional curriculum content and include broader health promotion initiatives for medical students and junior doctors themselves. Healthcare professionals are increasingly delaying childbearing during training and career progression, yet many receive little formal education around reproductive timelines, fertility preservation, or reproductive planning in a personally relevant context.
There is also growing opportunity to use flexible formats such as online modules, case-based learning, and interdisciplinary teaching to make this content more accessible without overburdening already busy curricula.