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Infertility awareness: why should we care?

The ability to get pregnant and have a child as well the right to have access to information regarding reproductive health is a fundamental human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (The United Nations 2021) states that “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a Family.” Infertility however affects as much as 186 million people worldwide and remains a major neglected health problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), (World Health Organization 2021) Infertility is defined as inability to to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. June is World Infertility Awareness Month and in 2021 the focus may be shifted to the posible effects of COVID-19 on fertility rates around the globe. The need to address infertility stems from its effects on a personal level as well as the social and economic consequences of reduced fertility rates. Although infertility is a medical condition which can be successfully managed with a varitey of advanced treatments the focus should also be put on ways to avoid it. Apparently very little attention has been paid to the matter over the years as infertility is stays adrift under the much wider concept of reproductive and sexual health. Despite efforts such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, very few people have access to adequate diagnosis and treatment . Sadly, the matter seems worse in developing countries and the poorest regions of the planet. Unfortunately infertility has not been given priority by public health policy-makers and governemnts and received very little investment to support research and provide everyone with access to preventive services, diagnosis, and medical treatment . In fact, when resources are scarce, infertility management receives little priority. The consequences may be tragic and widen the gender-gap as many infertile women are left without options and may face rejection and extreme suffering. Regrettably in many cultures women take the blame for infertility and childlessness even if current evidence says male infertility may account to up to 30% of couple’s infertility. It goes without saying this helps widens the gender gap and leave women suffering from infertility more vulnerable. The development of assited reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) has opened up new opportunites for people to achieve a pregnancy, but despite the global spread of IVF clinics, the unmet need for such costly treatments remains high. The development of IVF brought a better understanding of the role of male and female factors in infertility and made pregnancy possible even in severe hopeless cases. In addition,a better comprehension of male and female reproductive physiology may have helped reduce stigma as couples understand the part each one plays when infertility is the issue and seek adequate care. In that context intiatives that aim at providing affordable access to IVF such as low-cost IVF are of paramount importance. Moreover, IVF opened up options to parenthood for homesexual couples and transgender people and thus it is a vital aspect of equality and inclusion. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, people with transgender identity and nonbinary persons should have the right to consult with a musltisicplinary team and have access to fertility preservation and IVF (ASRM 2021). It goes without saying that governments should also take their responsability as infertility care should be viewed as an essential human right and therefore actions directed at fighting preventable causes of infertility and provision of diagnosis and treatment to infertile people or anyone who might require it should be part of a responsible public health agenda. Reduced birth rates are among the many changes brought on by the pandemic. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA reports a 4% reduction in birth and fertility rates in 2020 (Hamilton, Martin, and Osterman 2021). The long-term consequences of such a reduction will be felt in the years to come mainly in developed countries where populatin aging is a growing concern. WOMEN & HEALTH 2021, VOL. 61, NO. 6, 501–502 https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2021.1935269