Table 2:
Future fertility plans and knowledge among total survey responders and comparison by current educational status
| Characteristic | Total n(%) a | Premedical students; n(%) a | Medical students; n(%) a | Other; n(%) a , b | p value f |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which of the following best describes your plan for parenthood? | 0.001 | ||||
| Already have children and plan to have more | 24 (4.2) | 3 (1.8) | 16 (4.2) | 5 (17.9) | |
| Already have children and do not plan to have more | 9 (1.6) | 6 (3.6) | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Do not have children and plan to have children | 450 (77.8) | 123 (73.2) | 309 (81.1) | 18 (64.3) | |
| Do not have children and do not plan to have children | 46 (8.0) | 19 (11.3) | 24 (6.3) | 3 (10.7) | |
| I do not know | 48 (8.3) | 17 (10.1) | 29 (7.6) | 2 (7.1) | |
| At what point in your training do you plan to have children? c | |||||
| During medical school | 91 (15.7) | 39 (23.1) | 45 (11.8) | 7 (25.0) | 0.001 |
| During residency | 263 (45.4) | 68 (40.2) | 184 (48.2) | 11 (39.3) | 0.18 |
| During fellowship | 180 (31.1) | 58 (34.3) | 116 (30.4) | 6 (21.4) | 0.34 |
| After training is complete | 234 (40.4) | 63 (37.3) | 164 (42.9) | 164 (42.9) | 0.11 |
| I do not know | 234 (40.4) | 63 (37.3) | 164 (42.9) | 164 (42.9) | 0.11 |
| How many children would you like to have? | 0.57 | ||||
| 1 | 25 (4.8) | 6 (4.2) | 17 (4.8) | 2 (8.0) | |
| 2 | 260 (50.0) | 76 (53.2) | 171 (48.6) | 13 (52.0) | |
| 3 | 175 (33.7) | 45 (31.5) | 121 (34.4) | 9 (36.0) | |
| 4 | 45 (8.7) | 8 (5.6) | 36 (10.2) | 1 (4.0) | |
| 5+ | 15 (2.9) | 8 (5.6) | 7 (2.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Have you or your partner ever experienced infertility? d | 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 19 (3.3) | 7 (4.2) | 8 (2.1) | 4 (14.8) | |
| No | 551 (96.7) | 160 (95.8) | 368 (97.9) | 23 (85.2) | |
| Would you consider using ART to have children? | 0.43 | ||||
| Yes | 367 (63.6) | 102 (60.4) | 247 (65.0) | 18 (64.3) | |
| No | 71 (12.3) | 26 (15.4) | 40 (10.5) | 5 (17.9) | |
| Not sure | 139 (24.1) | 41 (24.3) | 93 (24.5) | 5 (17.9) | |
| Have you ever considered oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing) for yourself or your partner? | 0.13 | ||||
| I have frozen eggs in the past | 3 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.5) | 1 (3.6) | |
| I have considered egg freezing but have not pursued it | 184 (31.9) | 43 (25.4) | 132 (34.8) | 9 (32.1) | |
| I have considered egg freezing and tried to pursue it but experienced barriers | 16 (2.8) | 6 (3.6) | 9 (2.4) | 1 (3.6) | |
| I have not considered egg freezing, but I would consider it in the future | 298 (51.7) | 94 (55.6) | 192 (50.7) | 12 (42.9) | |
| I would never consider egg freezing | 76 (13.0) | 26 (15.4) | 44 (11.6) | 5 (17.9) | |
| During medical school have you had lectures on: | |||||
| Infertility | 188 (32.5) | ------ | ------ | ------ | |
| Age-related fertility decline | 193 (33.3) | ------ | ------ | ------ | |
| Egg freezing | 53 (9.2) | ------ | ------ | ------ | |
| In vitro fertilization | 108 (18.7) | ------ | ------ | ------ | |
| Over which age range does a female’s ability to get pregnant decline most precipitously? e (Answer: 35–39) | 0.15 | ||||
| Answered correctly | 353 (61.2) | 96 (56.8) | 236 (62.11) | 21 (75.0) | |
| Answered incorrectly | 224 (38.8) | 73 (43.2) | 144 (37.9) | 7 (25.0) | |
| What is the average cost of an IVF cycle in the USA? e (Answer: $12,000) | 0.24 | ||||
| Answered correctly | 122 (21.1) | 30 (17.8) | 88 (23.2) | 4 (14.3) | |
| Answered incorrectly | 455 (78.9) | 139 (82.3) | 292 (76.8) | 24 (85.7) | |
| A female’s eggs are as old as they are. e | 0.15 | ||||
| True (correct) | 451 (78.2) | 130 (76.9) | 295 (77.6) | 26 (92.9) | |
| False (incorrect) | 126 (21.8) | 39 (23.1) | 85 (22.4) | 2 (7.1) | |
| Male factors contribute to infertility much less often than female factors. e | 0.71 | ||||
| True (incorrect) | 159 (27.7) | 44 (26.0) | 109 (28.8) | 6 (21.4) | |
| False (correct) | 414 (72.0) | 125 (74.4) | 267 (70.6) | 22 (78.6) | |
a
Total numbers may vary due to item non-response or missing.
b
Other: currently pursuing another concurrent degree (ie, MPH, PhD, MBA etc) or currently taking time off for other reasons.
c
Participants were allowed to select more than 1 option.
d
Defined generally as failure to achieve pregnancy within 12 mo of unprotected intercourse.
e
Knowledge question from FIT-KS scale.
f
p values < 0.05 were considered significant and represent comparisons across subgroups of students.
ART, assisted reproductive technology; IVF, in vitro fertilization.