EXCLUSIVE: The REAL reasons behind the declining rate of women infertility

The biological ticking starts when a woman reaches 25, pushing the women to get married and have a child. But this decline is a silver lining in a woman’s life because it shows that now she has full control over her choices and pregnancy decisions than ever. We believe that the decline in fertility is a reflection of women empowerment as women are openly opting for various fertility treatments. Besides empowerment, economic stress is also a major reason for falling fertility rates in a developing nation like India.

Dual incomes are needed
In order to have a comfortable and stress-free life, the expenses of a home today cost more than three times as compared to the times of our mother’s era. Now, both the members of the house need to be working. Couples these days don’t have the bandwidth to afford more than one children. Sometimes, in order to support their partner’s women also keep delaying their pregnancy till they have strong financial support for child’s care. Even the daycare expense of a child is quite high and according to a survey the average cost of infant care is approximately Rs 50,000 – Rs 90,000 per year. To afford housing, food and other miscellaneous expenses, now the female partners also need to have a strong financial back-up before starting a family.

Age isn’t the only factor that affects fertility
Sometimes women do have many reproductive issues that cause problems in conceiving sooner or later. For an instance, if a woman is going through PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) then the chances of having infertility is higher. A couple is described as infertile if they are not being able to conceive after trying for a year. One of the hallmark symptoms of PCOD is irregular or absent ovulation, which makes it difficult for a person to conceive. Even an untreated pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriosis make it difficult to get pregnant. All these kinds of reproductive disorders cause hindrance in pregnancy irrespective of age. Besides radiation treatment, adherence to modern urbanization practices like smoking and alcohol consumption are the rising causes of infertility.  

If you know about your problem in conceiving, you should plan ahead
Opting for fertility treatment is the best way ahead if you want to conceive. But treatment also demands a change in your lifestyle procedures including quitting smoking, cutting down on alcohol if you're a heavy drinker. If a couple is under 35, a fertility expert first suggests trying out a natural way and somehow if the pregnancy doesn’t happen other procedures such as egg or embryo freezing, intrauterine insemination, and fertility treatment are suggested to them depending upon their situation. Since now you understand there could be tons of reasons ranging from financial, emotional to relationship-related, that led you not to have a baby in your 20s and early 30s, you must be feeling like you have a little more freedom to have babies in your own time.

About the author: Dr. Aswati Nair, Fertility Consultant, Nova IVF Fertility, New Delhi

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