The Minister of Solidarity and Families Aurore Bergé wants to break the taboo of infertility which, according to her, concerns one in four couples who are trying to have children.
Aurore Bergé tackles a vast question: why do the French have fewer children than they want? Among the reasons, the Minister of Solidarity and Families cites the taboo of infertility and intends to break it to better support couples who wish to have a child.
“I remind you that there are still one couple in four today who want to have a child who cannot do so. This is the question of infertility, it is a tabooshe declared Friday, November 10 on France 2. It is experienced a lot as a form of shameful illness when in fact we can accompany, we can support, and I believe that that is really our responsibility.” And it’s true, one in four couples are affected.
24% of couples have fertility problems
The figure is cited in a report on infertility submitted to the government in 2022 by Professor Samir Hamamah, head of the reproductive biology department at Montpellier University Hospital, and by Salomé Berlioux, author of the fictionalized story. Peach skin in which she recounts her couple’s difficulties in having a child.
The report cites a study by INED and Inserm. According to her, among the 15 million adults aged 20 to 49 who have already tried to have a child, 3.3 million women and men have encountered infertility problems in their relationship, this is that is to say that they have not succeeded in having a child after a year of regular sexual intercourse without contraception, according to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO). “For these men and women, the risk of having difficulty conceiving which leads to consulting a doctor is estimated at 24%, or one in four couples”he calculates.
Risks of infertility increase with age
However, this is an average. The risks of infertility increase with age. “A study carried out by INED estimates that if the risk of infertility is indeed around one couple in four at 30 years old, this risk rises to one couple in three at 35 years old (34%) and more than one couple in two at 40 years old (56%)”the report continues.
This is due to the decline in women’s fertility from the age of 30. An even more severe fall after 38 years. Whereas the risks of infertility in men only begin to occur from the age of 40. This increase in infertility problems with age is considered to be the primary cause of infertility, particularly because couples are having their first child later and later. In 2015, a woman had her first child at 28.5 years old on average, 4.5 years later than in 1974, according to an INSEE study. It was even 28.8 years in 2019, according to Eurostat.
The multiple causes of infertility
The report submitted to the government lists other factors of infertility. He first believes that environmental factors such as pollution and pesticides have a “major” impact. Endocrine disruptors in particular can reduce the fertility of a couple, but also of the child they ultimately manage to have.
Our daily behaviors can also reduce our fertility, if we are very sedentary, if we lack sleep, if we use tobacco or cannabis, or if we have eating disorders. The report also targets medical or medicinal causes which are often unknown, both by patients and health professionals.