Experts raise concerns over declining fertility rates and outline options for those delaying or struggling to conceive
By Mapaballo Borotho
The reproduction of children is declining globally as more people are deciding to delay having children or not have them at all.
Fertility specialist and gynaecologist, Dr Tebogo Deo, says this is a concerning trend and that the government should also be worried.
“We spoke about how the fertility rate is declining, and one of the causes is the fact that people are delaying fertility until a later stage.
We also acknowledge that a lot of times it is because of socio-economic issues, and many people are career driven. People want to be stable in their careers before they start a family,” said Deo.
However, some people are unable to fall pregnant or carry a pregnancy to full term due to various medical or fertility issues.
For such individuals, and for those who are delaying pregnancies, there are other alternatives to consider if they would still love to have babies in future.
“If you have been trying for a long time to have babies with no luck, as a woman it probably means your ovarian reserve is diminished or there is nothing. If it is diminished, we will try with an in vitro process where we stimulate ovulation and see if we can retrieve eggs.
If we are getting what we call empty follicle syndrome (no eggs), there is really no point in doing another cycle,” she said.
What is Plan B?
Couples who are trying to have a baby but are failing to reproduce naturally might want to consider what is called third-party reproduction.
This involves the donation of genetic material – eggs, sperm or an embryo.
“Fertility does not only affect women, but it also affects men. They are sometimes found not to have sperm for various reasons.”
Egg freezing
Egg freezing is a process where a woman donates her own eggs to her future self.
“Women preserve their own eggs so that when it comes to the age where you are unable to conceive, or your fresh eggs are diminished, you can go and fetch the eggs that you once donated to yourself when you were in your 20s,” Dr Tebogo added.
There are other options that both men and women can consider when they are trying for a baby. Most of these can be accessed through different fertility specialists.
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