Researchers: Jagidesa Moodley, Yogan Pillay, Olive P. Khaliq November 2025 What Is The Study About? South Africa, like many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), is now facing a double burden of disease, rising rates of non-communicable diseases alongside ongoing infectious disease challenges. Increasing numbers of women of reproductive age are entering pregnancy with obesity, diabetes, hypertension and HIV – conditions that significantly raise the risk of maternal and

Your fertility is affected by everything from age, your partner’s age and sperm health, daily diet, BMI, stress and even pollution. Lifestyle factors like smoking, drinking and drugs might seem like obvious things to avoid, but did you know that excessive exercise, is also not a good idea when trying to fall pregnant? Let’s separate the facts from the fallacies. Key Fertility Statistics for South African Women: - Total Fertility Rate (TFR): 2.21 in 2025, falling from 2.78 in