Being infertile means being...

Fertility reduces with age.

A common fertility treatment is called...

When a female stops having periods, it is called the...

When a female's egg is fertilised successfully by a male's sperm, this is also known as...

Fertility and reproduction - Dispelling myths

﻿So thank you for joining me in today's lesson. In this unit which is part of our intimate relationships topic where we're looking at reproductive health, also with the focus on alcohol and drugs in relation to that topic. My name is Mrs. O'Neill. Let's get started. Today's lesson about fertility and reproduction and dispelling myths around those topics does deal with aspects of sex education. So if that's sensitive to you, you might wish to consult a trusted adult before completing it, or have a trusted adult nearby. Today you will need an exercise book, piece of paper and or similar, a notebook to write in and a pen something to write with. Hopefully you've completed our introduction quiz for this lesson already. If you've not just skip back and complete that before continuing. We're going to talk about fertilisation and conception. A recap of some knowledge that you'll hopefully have covered earlier on in your school career and perhaps in science. Let's talk about health and fertility, the menopause. And then I'll direct you to our exit quiz. So our key words and terms for today. Conception. This is the time when a sperm travels up through the vagina and fertilises an egg, it might be in your experience and your knowledge that conception much is the idea of making a baby. That's what it might mean to you. It's also known as fertilisation. Fertility. The ability to reproduce. And menopause is when a woman stops having periods and then is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. And that normally occurs around about the age of 50. That's a very, very rough guide because every person is different. So on the screen now are three statements and each one matches one of our key terms. I'm going to read those statements out to you. No more babies for me. I'm going through the... I knew I was pregnant soon after... I hope I'm able to get pregnant and that I have no issues. So which statements matches which keyword? Please pause the video, write down your answers and press play when you're ready to resume and to check whether your answers match mine. Thank you. Brilliant. Okay. Let's have a look. I knew I was pregnant soon after conception. No more babies for me, I'm going through the menopause. I hope I'm able to get pregnant and that I have no fertility issues. Well done if you got those correct. That was just to illustrate how those words might be used in a sentence, and to help you with your understanding of their definitions and how those words are used. So again, to recap fertilisation which might also be referred to as conception. So how does this happen? So females release eggs from their ovaries when their ovaries have developed and periods have started which is normally between the ages of 10 to 16. Although again, that does vary from individual to individual. The testicles start producing sperm usually from the age of 10 to 14 and through sexual intercourse sperm can fertilise an egg which can result in pregnancy. And this process is known as conception. From your own words please explain how conception occurs and write that down. Pause the video to do so and press play when complete. So what happens during fertilisation? The image you see on the screen now is a diagram of the female reproductive system and the small purple circle represents although not to scale an egg. And the egg is released at ovulation. And it travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus. Now if sex occurs, the egg may be fertilised by sperm. And the lining of the uterus will continue to thicken. The fertilised egg implants in the uterus. This begins a pregnancy. So the facts below about fertilisation are jumbled up. Please pause the video and write them out in the correct order now and press play when complete. Wonderful. Let's see if your answers match mine. First of all, we have said the egg is released through ovulation. Then the egg travels to the uterus, the lining of the uterus continues to thicken. That's A. And finally B. The fertilised egg implants in the uterus. Well done if got those right. So. All of the key terms that you see on the screen now are associated with pregnancy or conception reproduction but one of them isn't associated directly with fertilisation and conception. Please point to the word that is not associated with fertilisation and conception now. Okay. Let's see if you right. It's labour. So labour is of course associated with pregnancy. It's the process through which a baby can be born when it's born in what's known as a vaginal birth but we wouldn't associate that key term of labour with fertilisation and conception. Let's have a think about this one. A person can only become pregnant on the day that they ovulate. Is that true or false? Point to the screen now. It's false. Now the most fertile time is the day of ovulation and the day before. So if someone is trying to get pregnant, they might map out their cycle and they might choose the days that they know if they have unprotected sex, they are more likely to get pregnant and it would be the day of and the day before ovulation. But sperm can survive for several days. So if someone has had sex in the days leading up to ovulation, then they also may be able to get pregnant from that occurrence of sexual intercourse too. Now on other days of the month, it's much less likely that pregnancy would occur, but it is not impossible. And that's because cycles can change and fluctuate. Every case is different. So it's important to note that even though it's more likely to get pregnant at particular times during the monthly cycle it's not impossible to get pregnant at other times within the monthly cycle. We have to think about some myths. Untrue rumours around getting pregnant. Now, one or more of the statements on the screen are myths. Untrue rumours about getting pregnant. That you cannot get pregnant if you have sex standing up. That you can't get pregnant if it's your first time. You can't pregnant if you have sex during a period or that you can't get pregnant if the withdrawal method is used. Where ejaculation occurs outside of the vagina. Which of those, it might be more than one is untrue? Please have a think, pause the video if you need to and either jot down or point to the screen depending on which of these you believe are myths. Okay, shall we have a look and see if your unsettled answers match mine. You cannot get pregnant if you have sex standing up. Is that a myth? Yes, it is. You can get pregnant if you have sex standing up. You cannot get pregnant if it's your first time having sex. Is that a myth? Yes, it is a myth. You can indeed get pregnant if it is the first time of having sex. As well, you can't get pregnant if you have sex during your period. And finally, if you use the withdrawal method, can you get pregnant? Yes, you can. It's a myth to say that you can't. So in all of these situations, you can get pregnant. They're all myths. Let's talk about fertility and health. So for some people both male and female, fertility is sometimes reduced. Sometimes that's due to health reasons and sometimes it's lifestyle. On the screen you're going to see some possible causes of infertility and each of them, I would like you to decide if it is a lifestyle cause or a health cause. So for each of these different possible causes of infertility, please write down lifestyle or health. Please pause the video, take some time to think about each one of these and jot down your answers. Press play when you've done that and we'll go through the answers. Okay.So before we go through the answers please remember this is not an exhaustive list. And some are the potential causes of infertility that we're talking about here could arguably be seen as both health and lifestyle. The two will overlap and link. There are some causes of fertility issues that are essentially due to controllable factors that the individual themselves might be able to, even with some help be able to control, to increase their fertility. Well some have health conditions that might need medical intervention if they are to hopefully be rectified if that person wants them to be so that they can become pregnant. Every case is different. So drinking alcohol, that's a lifestyle aspect. Yes, one might need help and they might have an addiction and might need help to give up drinking alcohol. But overall, we might say that drinking alcohol is a lifestyle trait that can be controlled. The same goes for smoking. Again someone might need some medical help to give up smoking but we might class that as lifestyle. Drug misuse also classed as lifestyle and an unhealthy BMI. Again, generally that might be due to lifestyle. Someone is perhaps overweight or underweight due to their diet or the amounts of exercise that they do. They may be able to control their BMI in order to increase their fertility. Although admittedly, there are cases where an unhealthy BMI is due to uncontrollable health reasons. The other reasons that are here... Having to take certain medications, some health conditions like endometriosis, unknown causes of infertility, hormone imbalances and sexually transmitted infections particularly where that may be undiagnosed or untreated for a long period of time. I would class as health reasons for infertility. Again, there may be some overlap with lifestyle. The purpose of this activity is to help you understand what some of the causes of infertility are but also to help you understand that some are controllable whereas some would be classed as health and may need direct medical intervention in order to try to rectify them. We're going to talk about fertility and the menopause. So getting pregnant later in life can be more difficult because fertility reduces with age. That's true for males and females. Also 500 eggs are released by females in a typical lifespan but the egg quality declines with age, particularly after the late thirties. Now around about the age 50, but again I'll reiterate that is a very rough guide, eggs stop being released and periods will eventually stop. And that's called the menopause. And women are usually no longer able to get pregnant naturally once the menopause is complete. There is a period of time as women are transitioning through the menopause because it's not something that happens overnight where pregnancy can occur and that period of time we would call the peri-menopause. So reflecting on what we've just learned there about the menopause, there is a paragraph I would like you to now copy and complete. You're going to fill in the correct answers in the gaps using the correct terms that you can see at the bottom of the paragraph. Please pause the video to complete that activity now and press play when complete. Thank you so much. Let's have a look and see if your answers are correct. Fertility reduces with age. Around 500 eggs are released in a typical lifespan. Egg quality declines, particularly from the late thirties. From around age 50, periods stop. This is called the menopause and when it's complete, pregnancy isn't usually possible. So now having written that out and had to work out the correct words, I'd like you to now put your understanding about how menopause affects fertility into your own words in a paragraph please. Pause the video to do that now. Wonderful. So onto our final main activity of today. I would like you to copy out the outline of this mind map. With fertility in the middle and to have menopause, fertilisation and health and fertility. You're going to add three examples to each section of the mind map. I'm giving you one example to start you off here. So under health and fertility, you might put something along the lines of drinking alcohol can reduce fertility. Please pause the video to complete this, which will hopefully bring together your knowledge from this lesson. Pause the video to do that now. Press play when complete. Again thank you so much. If you do require any further information or any support about issues raised in today's lesson please do speak to a trusted adult. You might want to seek medical advice through a school nurse, a GP or sexual health clinic. The N.H.S. website gives lots of advice on the issues that we've talked about today. Also it's worth knowing about Brook. You can find their services online. They provide sexual health services and advice for young people. You'll find them really easily just through a web search. I really, really hope that you have enjoyed today's lesson. Please. Don't forget to complete today's exit quiz. And I hope that I'll see you in our third and final lesson about reproductive health next time. Goodbye.

How does conception occur? Through...

A female can't say with 100% accuracy the days of the month she can/cannot get pregnant.

Drinking alcohol  excessively or frequently can cause infertility.

Which of the following might impact on fertility?

How many eggs (approximately) does a typical female release in a lifespan?

Reminding pupils of the basic scientific knowledge about fertilisation and conception (role of ovaries, eggs, and sperm etc.)

Identifying and addressing any myths about fertility (e.g. that you 'can't get pregnant while on your period')

This lesson will re-cap the process of conception and will address some myths around fertility. It will cover some of the lifestyle and health issues the can reduce fertility, and will discuss the impact of the menopause on fertility. This lesson covers some content that may be a sensitive topic for you. We recommend checking with a trusted adult before starting or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

Lesson overview:Fertility and reproduction - dispelling myths

Core Content

Content guidance

Supervision Level

Intimate relationships: Reproductive health and impact of alcohol and drugs: