If we could fall pregnant just by kissing and holding hands, find babies under gooseberry bushes or wait for the stork to drop one by, as we may have first learnt in the playground, we would be in a permanent baby boom!

Admittedly you can't go to your local garage and pick up a brochure or indeed take a test drive, but by finding out a little more about fertility and when you are most fertile, conception could be so much easier.

But knowing when you are fertile is not just about conception, it also

gives women the ability to control their choice of contraception.

Given the major role menstruation plays in women's lives, our knowledge of what actually happens 'behind the scenes' is very poor. Not just in the UK, but across Europe, there is a very basic factual understanding of ovulation, and if you probe this knowledge further, it is full of errors and contradictions passed on from parents, friends or poor sex education.

Confusion reigns in almost all areas relating to ovulation and its implications for fertility.

• Ninety-two per cent of UK women describe ovulation most accurately as "the time when the egg is released by the ovary" and 12 per cent correctly agree that this is "the time when it is possible to become pregnant".

• This is the most popular description among French women too, although 17 per cent of them also believe ovulation means the fertilisation of the egg by the sperm!

• Six per cent of Swedish women even think this is the time when it is not possible to become pregnant, despite 69 per cent claiming that they knew exactly what was happening to their bodies at the commencement of menstruation.

For example, over 50 per cent of women in all countries wrongly believe that ovulation still occurs when taking the (combined) Pill and this figure increases to over 70 per cent in Germany.

The UK and France share a common level of understanding and interpretation of ovulation but on some aspects there are differences in opinion and agreement of up to 35 per cent between the six countries surveyed.

In Britain, just over 70 per cent of women identify the 2-3 days around the day you ovulate as the most likely time to become pregnant.

However, less than half realise that the period before and after you ovulate is the ONLY time you can get pregnant.

In contrast, in Germany nearly 80 per cent of women agree with this statement.

Symptoms of Ovulation

Although it may be dismissed as psychosomatic by many, a number of women do experience one or more symptoms that indicate ovulation, from abdominal pain to changes in the colour/consistency of cervical mucus.

The most common symptom is abdominal pain, although in Italy cervical mucus change is the most common, indicating the wider use of mucus monitoring as a method of contraception.

Some of the other symptoms experienced include headaches and dizziness, anxiety, an increase in appetite and a rise in sexual awareness / excitement.

Fertile Period

Most of us will have grown up with the belief that you can get pregnant at any time of the month, probably as a means of making sex seem so perilous with the odds of getting pregnant so heavily stacked against us, we wouldn't dare consider the act.

Although most UK women know the most fertile days are in the middle of the cycle (72 per cent) and that this is the time pregnancy is most likely, over one-third wrongly believe you can become pregnant at any time throughout the cycle.

This perception is slightly higher among Pill users who lack the knowledge of a 'real' menstrual cycle.

• In France, there is an even greater knowledge gap with 23 per cent thinking you can get pregnant just after menstruation;

• In Sweden 20 per cent believe it is possible just before.

Italy and Germany are the best informed with 34 and 37 per cent respectively stating 3-4 days - the most fertile days for a woman are the 3-4 days around ovulation.

It is therefore not surprising that conception is more of a miss than hit affair for many couples.

Fertility-Infertility

You only have to look at the millions of pounds spent on fertility treatment every year to see the level of importance society and individuals place on being able to bear children.

• Just over 15 per cent predict that a quarter of the population will be unable to conceive in the first year of trying;

• 25 per cent think five per cent will be unable to conceive at all.

• Swedish women view sub-fertility as less of a problem than the other European countries.

• In fact, in the UK, one in six couples are categorised as sub-fertile, taking more than one year to conceive.

The Biological Clock

The concern that a woman's biological clock is constantly ticking away is widespread with 62 per cent of women feeling that age has an affect on the time taken to conceive.

• Of those, 27 per cent feel that between the ages of 30-34 it is important for women to use additional methods to assist conception.

• Interestingly, 24 per cent feel that women should monitor their fertility if they are trying to get pregnant, whatever their age.

2.2 Children

Just over a third of UK women questioned have no children but of those who do, one in five have three children - a much higher proportion than our European counterparts.

However, the trite '2.2 kids and a dog' is still the most common family size, with a fairly even split between boys and girls.

In the UK, the majority of women have their first child at the average age of 24.

Women in the Netherlands tend to leave it later (average age 25) while French women start younger - one in five have their first child between 19-20 years.

The average interval between children is just over two and half years; in Italy and Germany the age gaps are longer - 3.9 and 4.1 years.

Surprise! Surprise!

With a growing trend towards having the first child mid-twenties, it is perhaps not unexpected to find that 65 per cent of women questioned deliberately plan their first pregnancy.

• What is surprising is that in spite of the wide availability of contraception and its improved efficiency, their first pregnancy is a 'complete surprise' for over one third of women.
• In Germany the figures are even more startling, for the majority of women (53 per cent) finding out they were pregnant for the first time is a bolt out of the blue!

• In Italy however, a second child is more likely to be a surprise than the first - 42 per cent compared to 36 per cent.

In the UK, age is far less of a consideration than elsewhere in Europe, despite being cited as a reason for conception taking longer. In Germany, half the women questioned feel this is important in planning a pregnancy. Little peer pressure was felt although a general pressure to have a baby is more significant, particularly in Italy:

Practice What We Preach

Planning pregnancy often means just making the decision to start a family rather than taking active steps, other than the obvious one, to stop contraception.

Even if pregnancy has not occurred after a period of time, little is done apart from seeking further information or advice (11 per cent).

We certainly don't practice what we preach - women who have not yet planned a pregnancy expect they will do a lot more to prepare themselves for conception than they actually do.

In the UK, women claim they will stop/cut down on alcohol consumption (29 per cent), improve their diet (26 per cent), stop/cut down on smoking (25 per cent) take more exercise (17 per cent).

In reality, these figures drop drastically:

This important message is obviously yet to be driven home.

Easy As ABC

Perhaps the fact that most women find it relatively easy to conceive could be the reason behind their inaction when it comes to planning for pregnancy.

Of those who plan pregnancy, 82 per cent find it easy to conceive their first child while 11 per cent find it very difficult. However, UK women do experience more difficulty in conceiving than in other European countries.

The widespread use of natural family planning methods in Italy, and therefore the greater knowledge Italian women have of their cycle and fertility, is probably one of the main reasons why they become pregnant more quickly than women in the rest of Europe.

UK women take the longest time to conceive - possibly an indication of our poor knowledge of fertility and also a sign that we should be preparing our bodies, and lifestyles, for pregnancy rather than just letting nature run its course.

LENGTH OF TIME TAKEN TO BECOME PREGNANT - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND PLANNED

It may be the wealth of often unwanted advice offered to women when trying to get pregnant that delays them from actively seeking it themselves - most women claim they would only seek advice on conception after their perception of the normal time taken to become pregnant had passed.

In the UK, the average expectation is six months, advice will be sought after eight months and women will not 'become concerned' until nearly a year has gone.

However, it will not be until a one-year point has been reached that a GP will classify a couple sub-fertile and refer them to a specialist.

A Special Time

Many women feel that having children makes them feel 'complete' as a woman. The relationship developed with their children, and particularly the bond and dependence of very young children, is central to many of their lives and a number want to have another child to perpetuate this dependency now lacking in their lives as their children grow older.

The arrival of children has changed women's lives fundamentally and perhaps their relationships with partners too.

The sense of responsibility for another life is constant and the bond between mother and child potentially very strong.

For women with children, pregnancy is a memorable and special time, even if not physically comfortable.

A period in their lives of considerable pride, wanting others to acknowledge their condition, particularly in the early months when it is not at all obvious.

Planned or otherwise, pregnancy, is seen very much as a special time for a relationship:

Despite women's increasing independence, financially and to a certain extent emotionally, men take on a very protective role towards their pregnant partner to the point that they feel inhibited about sex for fear of harming the baby.

Food cravings seem to be more of an old wives' tale than truly symptomatic of pregnancy but women do admit to being "emotionally touchy" and "tearful" which leads to more erratic behaviour then usual.

Not surprisingly, the thought of pregnancy and giving birth is an unnerving prospect for women who haven't yet had children. The experiences of friends, the 'real life' education material used in schools and the often graphic portrayal of birth in the media has left many younger women daunted by the prospect.

There is also a concern about the ability to feel and be maternal - "I can't see me ever having an emotional bond" - as well as living up to the responsibilities of parenthood.

In addition, childless women feel some pressure from society to conform and have children.

Although this does not deter them entirely as motherhood is viewed as one, if not THE most positive aspect of being a woman.

At a glance, how WlSed Up To Womanhood are women in each of the six European countries surveyed?

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