Posted on Friday, September 20, 2013 - 06:56 am:

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Telugu_times:

Tilak:
Almost half the couples in South India (49 per cent) aged between 31 and 40 have been found to be infertile, says a survey

Geroge Buss anukuntaa

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Posted on Friday, September 20, 2013 - 06:49 am:

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Tilak:

Almost half the couples in South India (49 per cent) aged between 31 and 40 have been found to be infertile, says a survey

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Posted on Friday, September 20, 2013 - 05:49 am:

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quote:

Your overly-nosey atthe's (aunt) worst nightmare may have just come true.

Almost half the couples in South India (49 per cent) aged between 31 and 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 quantify the prevalence of infertility in the country till date.

As such, this just goes to show that the growth in fertility treatment centres over the last 15 years has been proportional to the decline in 'normal' fertile couples, capable of natural childbirth.

There are at least 107 fertility centres in Chennai. Bangalore is said to have nearly 20 fully-equipped fertility clinics.

The survey was conducted among 2,562 participants and 100 specialists from nine cities, including Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad. It was conducted by pharma company Merck Serono India.

The dip in sexual health and fertility has 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 (IVF) and about 80 per cent had come to realise that fertility treatment was a good option for them," 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 lakh and Rs 5 lakh), long-winding medical procedures and a less than 30 per cent chance of success, couples have been found to be disgruntled with the process. However, Dr Meenakshi Bharath, a Bangalore-based gynaecologist and fertility specialist, said that the estimate was too high and that only 10-15 per cent of any population is infertile.

"It is not possible that 49 per cent of the population is infertile. It is a very skewed figure," she observed.

Dr Bharath, however, said that there is an increasing demand for the super specialty of assisted reproduction as more and more people are seeking treatment due to a change in lifestyle.

"Obesity is a huge cause of infertility in women, and among men it is the use of tight clothes and excessive gymming. There are many IT industries in south India and lifestyle is a major factor. Women have delayed pregnancies and go in for assisted reproduction," Dr Bharath stated.

"But it is impossible that nearly half of the population is infertile," she stressed (With inputs from Sharadha Kalyanam).

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