Infertility: what the plan to fight against infertility provides

After four months of investigation, a report concerning the causes of infertility in France was published this Monday, February 21. This document, submitted to the Minister of Health Olivier Véran and to the Secretary of State for Children and Families Adrien Taquet, is based on the expertise of one hundred and fifty health professionals and representatives of civil society. The conclusion is heavy: one in four couples has difficulty having a child.

Commissioned by the Minister of Health, Professor Samir Hamamah, head of the reproductive biology unit at Montpellier University Hospital, and Salomé Berlioux, an activist from the voluntary sector, established “an ambitious plan to fight against infertility”they write in the report.

The causes of infertility: what we know

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.

Regarding the causes, specialists identify three different cases:

• Environmental factors : endocrine disruptors, air pollution and exposure to pesticides impact fertility.
• Medical causes : polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, tubal obstruction or even premature ovarian failure are a risk of infertility.
• Societal factors : “In France, the delay in the age of parenthood could continue. According to INED’s assumptions, it is not excluded that the average age at childbearing will soon reach or even exceed 32 years., write the specialists. However, fertility seems to decline from the age of 30 and accelerate after 35 years. The desire for professional stability, the onset of an economic crisis, but also the mental burden that weighs on women, play a determining role in the age of first childbearing.

As for cases of unexplained infertility, they represent 20% to 30% of cases and increase with age.

The main recommendations

The recommendations are based on several main areas: informing collectively, individually, better diagnosing, better training health professionals and establishing a strategy at the national level.

Among these 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.