There are many misconceptions about women’s reproductive health: here’s what you need to know about egg reserve, fertility and ovarian ageing

Women across the world continue to face enormous social expectations around fertility, often alongside widespread misinformation about how the female reproductive system actually works. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infertility affects around one in six people globally during their lifetime. Conditions that influence reproductive health are also common: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (previously known as PCOS) affects an estimated 6-13% of women of reproductive age, endometriosis affects about one in 10 women and girls of reproductive age, while premature ovarian insufficiency affects around 1% of women under 40 years.

Yet many women continue to encounter misconceptions that oversimplify fertility, place disproportionate responsibility on them and create anxiety around ageing and motherhood. Doctors say these myths do more than spread misinformation: they often delay medical evaluations, increase emotional distress, reinforce gender stereotypes around infertility and lead women to either seek unnecessary interventions or postpone appropriate care.