Better use of contraception may have contributed to fertility rates in South Africa dropping from 2.92 children per woman in 2001 to 2.35 children per woman in 2011 (Statistics SA), but there is a worrying trend towards rising infertility in those who do wish to have children but find they cannot conceive. Fortunately, modern assisted reproduction technology is assisting parents in overcoming the odds.
"Lifestyle choices and a growing tendency to wait till later in life to have children are impacting on people's ability to conceive," says Dr Johannes van Waart, director of the Wijnland Fertility Clinic in Stellenbosch.
In an American study conducted by Yale School of Medicine of 1000 women, aged 18-40, found that 40% of women across the board were worried about their ability to conceive. Twenty-five percent of the participants did not know that sexually transmitted infections, smoking and obesity could have a significant impact on fertility and 20% were unaware that aging plays a big part in infertility and chromosomal abnormalities.
Whilst prevention is better than cure, the efficacy of infertility treatment has grown enormously in the last 20 years. The first doctor to bring fertility treatment to South Africa, Dr Paul Dalmeyer, remembers when the odds were stacked against couples willing to try fertility treatments.
"The chances of success were slim back then but growing research, improved methods of incubation and alternative technologies there have been dramatic upward shifts in success rates. Aging remains the biggest factor in the success of both spontaneous an assisted conception."
Amongst the options for fertility treatments are artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injections - and there are many more. For some parents, the journey to fertility includes the use of donor eggs and even surrogacy. The clinic, using the groundbreaking EmbryoScope, has experienced 69% success rates per cycle against a global average of 50% per cycle.
Lizanne van Waart, the clinic's psychologist says, "For each couple and individual, the journey through infertility is a different challenge, but we try to assist people not only in achieving their wish to conceive but also by seeing the experience as an opportunity for emotional growth. Infertility is a disease, like cancer, and although it is not life threatening it can take an enormous toll on people's emotional and physical wellbeing. One in two marriages doesn't survive infertility."
The clinic urges people who suspect they may have problems with their fertility to seek help sooner rather than later.
For more information, go to www.wijnlandfertility.co.za.
