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On February 24, Amandine, the first French test-tube baby, will celebrate her 40th birthday. The opportunity to recall that medically assisted procreation (AMP) allows each year in France to 27,000 children to come into the world.
According to the latest data from the Biomedicine Agency, which dates from 2019, ART techniques have come a long way over the past 40 years. Formerly a technical and medical prowess, MAP has since become “democratized” and couples now benefit from techniques that offer the most appropriate care possible.
27,063 children born after ART
In 2019, 27,063 children were born after ART, i.e. 3.6% of all births. The proportion of children conceived by ART among children born each year in France has been increasing since 2009 (2.6% in 2009, 3.3% in 2018). It is estimated that nearly one child in 28 comes from ART.
Among the 27,063 children born from ART carried out in 2019:
- 21.4% (5,788 children) were conceived by intrauterine insemination, the simplest ART technique to set up, the least invasive and the least expensive,
- 37.2% (10,080 children) are derived from embryo thawing. This constantly increasing number (16% in 2013, 34.6% in 2018) reflects the reduction in the average number of embryos transferred at each transfer and the growing role of deferred embryo transfers in the management strategy. couples in ART. Changes are favored by the development of embryonic vitrification and the better survival of embryos after warming;
- And 41.4% (11,195 children) were born after immediate transfer of embryos from in vitro fertilization (IVF excluding ICSI and ICSI).
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One in four couples have difficulty having a child
On February 21, a report on the causes of infertility was submitted to the Minister of Health Olivier Véran and to the Secretary of State for Children and Families Adrien Taquet. The findings of the 150 health professionals and representatives of civil society who took part are weighty: one in four couples has difficulty having a child.
Nowadays, infertility directly affects 3.3 million French men and women. And if medically assisted procreation (PMA) sometimes seems to be the solution to this problem, the experts point out that the chance of having a child during an attempt today amounts to 20%. Note that 4 attempts are covered by social security.
A new plan to fight infertility
In the light of this report, a plan to fight against infertility was launched with several recommendations:
- Inform both men and women about their own fertility ;
- Strengthening the teaching of reproductive health from middle school and mobilize communication on social networks. “Adolescents are made aware of the need to protect themselves during sexual intercourse to avoid STIs and unwanted pregnancies, but the risk of infertility is never mentioned”they say in the report;
- Inform collectively by setting up an awareness campaign, a dedicated website and a toll-free number;
- Create a National Fertility Institute whose budget is estimated at 40 million euros. That “would make it possible to embody the theme of infertility, and to stimulate, lead and coordinate a national strategy for the prevention of infertility”they explain in the report;
- Establish targeted consultations for men and women from adolescence so that they can identify possible fertility risk factors;
- Increase the attractiveness of this discipline to young researchers and better fund research on human reproduction.