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FERTILITY SHOCK

Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald - 11 March 2019, RTÉ One
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald
Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald with students from Roscommon Community College Image Name: Fertility Shock - Dearbhail McDonald with students from Roscommon Community College
Fertility Shock - Paul and Kristel Bradley copy Image Name: Fertility Shock - Paul and Kristel Bradley copy
Fertility Shock - Tony Curtis and June Shannon Image Name: Fertility Shock - Tony Curtis and June Shannon

In this one-off documentary journalist Dearbhail McDonald – Group Business Editor of Independent News and Media – wants to talk about why Ireland is running out of babies. Irish people are having babies later and later, and when they do start a family, they’re having less and less children than ever before; in short, we’re not having enough children to replace ourselves.

 

And this isn’t just an Irish problem, fertility levels have fallen significantly across the industrialised world. Some European countries, like Poland, Denmark and Hungary, have launched public awareness campaigns to draw attention to the potential impact of falling fertility rates, particularly in countries with ageing populations.

 

This is all very personal to Dearbhail, who has decided to have her own eggs frozen to increase her chances of having a baby when the time is right for her. We go on an intriguing journey with Dearbhail as she explores how fewer children, combined with an ageing population is storing up a very real demographic time-bomb for Ireland.

 

In ‘Fertility Shock’ Dearbhail meets couples – Paul and Kristel and June and Tony – who have had their own struggles with infertility. She canvasses 20-somethings about when and whether they want to have children. She talks to Rhona Mahony of the National Maternity Hospital about the complications that come with older couples having children. Rhona is also a close friend of Dearbhail and the pair chat about Dearbhail’s decision to have her eggs frozen. Dearbhail also travels to Copenhagen, where she meets with an Irish woman who explains how much more support there is for couples who have children and still want to work in Denmark, compared to Ireland. And she meets with the Mayor of Copenhagen and a fertility expert to find out why they have joined forces to raise awareness amongst Danish people about falling fertility.