SINGAPORE: A recent study shows that the majority of Singapore women believe their infertility is not a result of a physical conditions and reportedly argued it is “God's will” or “bad luck” for not getting pregnant. It comes on the heels of the government's attempts to entice women and couples to get married and have more children as the country faces the lowest birthrate globally. The findings come as part of a Merck study conducted on 1,000 women across 10 Asian countries, including Singapore. “Starting Families Asia” also found two in five women in Singapore were unaware that a man can be infertile even if he does not have any problems having sex. Two in five Singaporean women also “do not realise that a man may be infertile even if he produces sperm.” The study showed a plethora of misunderstandings that women in the city-state and across Asia had in terms of fertility. Among those misconceptions held included “not knowing that women in their forties did not have a similar chance of getting pregnant as a woman in her thirties (60 percent) and that women who are overweight by more than 13 kilograms may not be able to get pregnant (65 percent).” Mother of three Jennifer Chui told Bikyamasr.com that “we need better sexual reproductive education and healthcare access if women in this country are going to be more understanding of how and when to get pregnant.” She added that more information is needed and a greater boost for “women in the workplace who want to have children needs to be made.” The study also noted that fertility treatments in the city often cost too much for many women to participate in them.
