1 in 6...
- The True Romantic
- Mar 1, 2016
- 3 min read
I had a lovely catch up with a friend going through a round of clomiphene. Is it me, or does the struggle seem real for so many people? Maybe I know an older age bracket of people attempting to add to their families, or extra aware because of our situation. It doesn’t make me feel better though. It makes me upset that there are so many people struggling when more often than not in the media you hear about the part of society who are ungrateful for the gift of life. Maybe it’s the hormones, but I can barely watch the news without feeling devastated about the kids getting hurt, starved, mistreated and even killed by someone who ‘loves’ them.
Its old news now, but the fact that we had to bring in a law about smacking kids. As if the mere smack is the reason for these kids dying at the hands of their “caregivers”. Yes, it’s in quotation marks cause it’s clearly a title used loosely when being used in reference to the people who beat their kids to death. They clearly have no moral compass so what’s an anti-smacking law going to do. Maybe it should be an anti-beating law – oh wait, there is one of them already. Several actually.
I digress.
The whole subject of infertility is an interesting one. I was told by my doctor at the Fertility Associates that 1 in 6 couples suffer from infertility. But as I mention it feels higher.
To make sure I knew what is meant when someone refers to ‘infertility’ I did some research.
Infertility is used in reference to couple who have failed to conceive after for at least 12 months of trying (“unprotected sex”). Interesting it also includes those who have an “inability to carry a live pregnancy to birth”.
Other terms I read in reference to infertility is “involuntarily childless”. It is recognised that of those who are considered infertile, some will subsequently conceive naturally (post 12 months of trying), while others are not able to without reproductive assistance. And some will never conceive - about 7% of women remain childless because of female and male infertility.
Overall, 16–20% of couples are affected by infertility at some point in their lives.
Why does so much infertility exist?
It seems the reasons fall into 2 categories - biological and social. Interestingly, gender is not noted as being such a significant factor, with about 30% of infertility cases are caused by female factors alone and 30% by male factors alone. Then another 30% are caused by combined female and male factors, and 10% of infertility cases cannot be explained.
Biological:
Females: gynaecological problems - uterus and tubal defects and endometriosis
Male - impaired sperm production
Both sexes - hormonal imbalances and exposure to STI’s/STD’s
Social:
environmental pollutants
long-term use of certain contraceptives
lifestyle factors - smoking, rapid weight loss and obesity
Wait… I missed one significant factor that is both a biological and social - AGE.
This is a critical factor in infertility (unfortunately its mostly only relevant for women) and the peak reproductive age is between 19 and 25. Who the hang was ready then?
Fertility drops significantly from their mid-30s. there was study that found that since 2000 most women start families at this time (mid-30’s) when their fertility is declining. And the reasons they found were social factors and lifestyle choices - such as women wanting to work and/or establish careers, and the long term use of the (contraceptive) pill. In 2009 the median age of women giving birth was 30 and the median age of women giving birth for the first time was 28.
Well this sums me up. I am almost the perfect metaphor for this. Waited to get my career sorted and do all the travel I wanted before I ‘settled down’. The fabulous part of that is that I’m 100% ready.
The downside is that I feel frustrated when I see people that aren’t ready or have ‘fallen’ into it and take it for granted.
Peace out.
Interesting articles and links related to this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/74242023/Infertility-a-bigger-problem-in-Southland-than-previously-believed-study
http://www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/articles/does-infertility-affect-men/
http://www.nzs.com/new-zealand-articles/family/fertility.html
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/infertility-and-childlessness/page-1
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