First Reproductive Experiences: New Survey Module Compared with Health Register Data

Anna Stastna , Department of Demography and Geodemography, Faculty of Science, Charles University
Jitka Slabá, Charles University - Faculty of Science
Eva Beaujouan, University of Vienna, Wittgenstein Centre

The timing and sequencing of first reproductive events—such as conception, birth, or pregnancy loss—are central to understanding fertility behaviour and reproductive health. While health registers provide high-quality records of such events, they lack information on intentions, attempts, and subjective experiences. Survey data can capture these aspects but may be affected by recall bias. This study compares the onset of reproduction as reported in the newly designed First Reproductive Experiences survey module—piloted in the 2025 Czech Generations and Gender Survey—with data from the National Register of Reproductive Health, administered by the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic. The survey module captures first attempts to conceive, unplanned pregnancies, and assisted reproduction, including their timing, duration, and discontinuation—details absent from conventional registers. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the quality of data on first reproductive experiences collected through the newly developed survey module by comparing it with information from health registers. A secondary aim is to demonstrate the added value of the new module in understanding reproductive strategies, delays, and losses. We focus specifically on clarifying trends suggested by preliminary results from the health register data, which show a growing proportion of women classified as “eventless”—that is, with no registered reproductive events by a given age—raising questions about whether this reflects delayed reproduction or difficulties in conceiving. These insights are crucial for interpreting cohort fertility patterns and for recognizing the limitations of relying solely on register-based statistics.

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 Presented in Session P3. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 3