More than a third of teenagers surveyed in England don’t want children – and one reason for this is surprising.
Fears about pregnancy and childbirth were one of the reasons girls gave for deciding against future pregnancies according to research by University College London (UCL).
However, some of the 16 to 18-year-olds said that they were put off by the “turbulent state of the world” and climate change, reports The Telegraph.
Other reasons cited in the study was that they felt nervous at the idea of being a parent and found children a nuisance.
For the study nearly 1,000 sixth-form pupils were surveyed in 20 schools in England between May 2021 and July 2022.
It found that 36 percent of teenagers did not want to have children in the future.
It revealed 64 percent said they did want to have children – however nearly half (45 percent) said they had concerns about becoming parents.
Statistics from the Office for National Statistics show there were 605,479 live births in England and Wales in 2022, the lowest number since 2002.
Joyce Harper, a senior author and professor from the UCL EGA Institute for Women’s Health, said: “Sadly, a number of female students expressed a lack of interest in future parenthood due to their fears about pregnancy and childbirth.
“Shortcomings in fertility education in schools also meant that students were left feeling both ill-informed and negative towards their own fertility and ability to have children,” reports The Telegraph.
Meanwhile an MP is demanding that schools disclose their lesson plans amid fears children are being “indoctrinated” by teachers passing contested ideas about sex and gender as fact.
Tory Miriam Cates raised the issue in the Commons last week and said parents should withdraw children from sex education classes if they were worried.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised a review into Relationship and Sex Education [RSE].
His vow comes as a growing number of parents become concerned at the intimate detail of what is being taught to children.
Former teacher Mrs Cates, 40, told MPs children were receiving “graphic lessons” on X-rated subjects and were being taught that there was an almost limitless number of genders.
