Why we need to teach everyone about reproductive health

Reproductive health is a topic that concerns everyone but its coverage in schools worldwide is patchy. Given current falls in total fertility rate and rises in the age at which women have their first child, there is an urgent need to ensure that teenagers and young adults understand fertility and reproductive health. This would help them to make informed choices about family building. Recent research has shown that even in England, one of the few countries that explicitly incorporates reproductive health education into its school curriculum, teenagers report being taught little about reproductive health and fertility. We conclude that there is an urgent need to improve the quality of the education that school students receive about reproductive health.