In this article, a doctor is quoted talking about the risks involved in delaying pregnancy in marriages. Since so many couples today are more focused on their careers and other priorities before settling down to have a family, it is important to get the facts in terms of what can happen after a certain age to a woman's ability to have a child. What goes along with this in the communication aspect is how to get these messages across to couples without it seeming degrading or persuasive.
I think the lectures on risk communication are good to think about when reading this article because we see risks in topics that are certainly not obvious. While we talked about obvious risks in science and ways of communicating them, even risks that may not be present at the moment need to be communicated in ways so that people can use the information to better make decisions.
Monday, April 14, 2008
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3 comments:
When my mother got remarried in 1999, she and my step-father decided to have another kid. After one miscarriage in 2001, my little brother was born in 2002 (my mother being 42 at the time). I can remember her talking about all the potential risks the doctors kept telling her. It was relatively new information as she hadn't heard about people waiting to have kids until their late thirties (and in her case 40s). My brother was born healthy as can be, but there are definitely risks associated and this article brings up some good points.
Waiting to have children has become a lot more popular in recent years. Couples are waiting longer for careers to develop before settling down, which poses some communication problems. How do you communicate these risks to a much larger audience? It was easy talking to my mother one on one, but when you are trying to reach millions of people you have to consider, like Dan said, risk communication strategies that aren't degrading or persuasive. It's difficult to do, especially when the reasons that people are waiting and the age differences vary by so much.
Think the point above is very interesting because it seems that there are so many different reasons that people are having children latter in life, from the increase in re-mirages to career building. I had a family friend who gave birth to healthy twins at 52 years old; she and the babies were fine there were apparent risks with this, that the mother was aware of and had accepted. It is also think it is interesting to look at the new technology with artificial insemination and other methods that aid women in getting pregnant and how the risks are communicated, and if these methods add risk. It is a tough situation as far as risk communication goes because it seems that many women would consider the opportunity to have a child worth almost any risk.
The article brings about concern of an issue that not many people, especially women, may be aware of. It’s hard because women of today are very career-driven and want to have a successful career for many years before having children. But this article reminds women that if you wait too long, your chances of conceiving will decrease by a lot. It is difficult reaching out to a huge audience but maybe doctors could increase the awareness, when meeting with their patients, by asking questions in a non-suggestive way. It depends on the doctor (whether or not he has good communication skills) but if done in the right manner the doctor’s concerns could be brought up without sounding degrading or persuasive.
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