A new study from Yale examining 4,700 women found that one of the greatest factors shaping a woman's views on family planning is the amount of her career focus--but it's not what you may think.
The national average age for women to be giving birth for the first time has shifted from 22 to 26 in the past fifty years, allowing women to spend early adulthood focusing on their careers.A Yale Study found that women who place more importance on their careers are more likely to utilize pregnancy planning than women who are less serious about their career goals.What this says about our society: many women are able to experience the best of both worlds--motherhood and business womanhood--now that fertility treatments are seen as a viable option for women not in a rush to start a family.
As public confidence for medical technology soars, women are able to achieve career goals they never saw possible before. Ninety percent of women in the Yale study said they felt confident that medical advancements made conceiving in their late 30s feasible.A woman's body was previously seen as a "ticking time bomb," of sorts, with women having a short period of time where conception was not only safe and healthy for herself and the baby, but also socially acceptable.Now, with many women liberated socially and empowered to achieve their career goals, motherhood can be temporarily put on hold.
With confidence on artificial reproductive technologies on the rise, women are engaging in a more open discourse on their career and family goals. "Egg freezing parties" are on the rise--much like a traditional Mary Kay or Pampered Chef party--but instead of cosmetics and kitchen gadgets, women meet with fertility groups about their reproductive options.That said, there's still room for adjusting attitudes and mindsets on a woman's options in taking charge of artificial reproductive technologies. Career-minded women, while often times more open to reproductive technologies, often have greater access to and knowledge of fertility treatments than other women. With this, professionals working within fertility services recommend educational tools to women who may be interested.While women are waiting longer to have children, they become successful business-women with knowledge on their options regarding artificial reproductive technologies. With this new generation of savvy, empowered women, this is one great step for womanhood.