Your overly-nosey athai’s (aunt’s) worst nightmare may have just come true. Almost half the couples in South India (49 per cent) aged between 31-40 have been found to be infertile, says a survey called Helping Families. But, blind faith appears to be the only thing that can beat this shocking revelation.
For, in this day and age, a whopping 64 per cent of the infertile couples believe that religious rituals and God would bless them with a child, thus delaying infertility treatment till their mid-30s. The survey, endorsed by the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) and the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE), is significant because no one has been able to put a number to quantify the prevalence of infertility in the country, till date.
This goes to show that the growth in fertility treatment centres over the past 15 years has been proportional to the decline in ‘normal’ fertile couples. Incidentally, there are at least 107 fertility centres in Chennai, and double the number across the State. The survey was done amongst 2,562 participants and 100 specialists in nine cities, including Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The dip in sexual health and fertility have been chalked up to stress, lifestyle changes and changing environment.
“The good news is that 35 per cent of these couples in south India have at least undergone In Vitro Fertilization and about 80 per cent had come to realise that fertility treatment was a good option,” said Dr Jeyarani Kamaraj, fertility expert and director of Aakash Fertility Centre.
But with inflated prices (average cost for an IVF cycle is anywhere between Rs 1-5 lakh), long winding medical procedures and a less than 30 per cent chance of success, couples have been found to be disgruntled.
Also read: Couples share shortcomings