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Fertility
Governments ‘fail to to address’ declining global fertility rates, warn doctors
While there have been advances in fertility care, doctors have said that equity remains a challenge across countries, cultures and economies
The global fertility rate is declining and most governments are failing to recognise and address the impact on economies and societies, a group of doctors has warned.
Not including the effects of migration, many countries are predicted to have a population decline of more than 50 per cent from 2017 to 2100, the doctors wrote in a new paper, published in Human Reproduction Update.
“By 2050, 77 per cent of predominantly high-income countries, and by 2100, 93 per cent of all countries will have a total fertility rate below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman,” the paper’s authors, who included fertility specialists from Australia, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, The Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US, added.
With underpopulation becoming a great concern in an increasing number of countries, the paper aimed to provide recommendations for what governments, policymakers, companies, healthcare professionals and patients could do to address infertility risk factors and make fertility care more affordable and accessible.
“Choosing to have a family is a human right,” said Bart CJM Fauser, co-first author of the paper, scientific director at the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS) and professor emeritus of reproductive medicine at Utrecht University.
“However, access to fertility care is often unaffordable, inaccessible, and inequitable and that needs to change.”
The authors pointed out that there had been “major advances in fertility care that have dramatically improved family building opportunities over the last three decades,” but equity remains a challenge across countries, cultures and economies.
Edgar Mocanu, IFFS president, said: “The good news is that infertility is often preventable. A simple step is offering balanced fertility and contraceptive education so that everybody can decide when to prevent pregnancy and when it is ideal for them to start a family, if they choose.”
One in six people of reproductive age grapple with infertility and the problem affects women and men equally. Some sexually transmitted infections, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, obesity and poor nutrition could negatively affect both male and female fertility, the physicians wrote.
Alarmingly, infertility risk factors, such as air pollution and the proliferation of harmful and poorly regulated chemicals, are increasing, making it critical for policymakers to develop and implement policies that reduce environmental infertility risk factors.
Solutions to improving birth rates, the doctors said include “policy measures supporting families and working women” such as compensation for extended pregnancy leave and childcare, parental leave and increased access to assisted reproductive technology services (ART).
Dr Luca Gianaroli, IFFS director of education and former chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, said: “While more than 10 per cent of all children are born with fertility assistance in some wealthy countries, there is great variation in access to care and the high cost remains a barrier across the board.
“A limited number of countries have started public funding of fertility treatment to mitigate falling birth rates and the IFFS is asking that more countries consider providing financial assistance for individuals needing fertility care.
“The economic benefits to society of providing fertility care clearly exceed the cost of treatment and these benefits will only increase as populations become more aged,” he added.
The Covid vaccine is not behind a fall in childbirth, a Swedish study has shown.
Rumours on social media have alleged that the jab impairs chances of becoming pregnant.
In the later stages of the pandemic, some countries, including Sweden, saw fewer births, raising the question of whether vaccines were responsible.
The study analysed all women aged 18 to 45 years in Region Jönköping County, Sweden, a total of almost 60,000 women. Of these, 75 per cent were vaccinated once or more against Covid-19 from 2021 to 2024.
Researchers at Linköping University used healthcare records on childbirths, miscarriages and deaths.
Comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated groups, the researchers found no statistically significant differences in childbirths or miscarriages.
This aligns with previous studies finding no link between the Covid vaccine and fertility.
Toomas Timpka is professor of social medicine at Linköping University.
Timpka said: “We see no difference in childbirth rates between those who have taken the vaccine and those who haven’t.
“We’ve also looked at all registered miscarriages among those who became pregnant, and we see no difference between the groups there either.
“Our conclusion is that it’s highly unlikely that the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 was behind the decrease in childbirth during the pandemic.”
The researchers suggest other explanations for the dip in births.
People now in their 30s were born in the late 1990s, a period of economic strain and lower birth rates in Sweden, shrinking today’s cohort of potential parents.
Additional pandemic-related factors, such as health and economic concerns and changed behaviour during lockdown, may also have reduced childbirth.
A strength of the study is its large, nationally representative cohort.
The analysis adjusted for age to avoid masking any potential vaccine effect on childbirth.
A Florida couple have sued an IVF clinic after giving birth to a baby who is not genetically related to either of them.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills hired IVF Life, which operates as the Fertility Center of Orlando in Longwood to help them conceive about five years ago using in vitro fertilisation.
The couple had an embryo implanted in April and welcomed a baby girl nine months later, but soon suspected the clinic had made an error.
Both Score and Mills are white, but the baby had the appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child, according to the lawsuit.
Genetic testing confirmed that the baby is not biologically theirs. The couple filed the lawsuit on 22 January after allegedly trying to contact the clinic multiple times without getting a response.
Jack Scarola, one of the couple’s lawyers, told the Orlando Sentinel: “They have fallen in love with this child. They would be thrilled in the knowledge that they could raise this child.
“But their concern is that this is someone else’s child, and someone could show up at any time and claim the baby and take that baby away from them.”
Score and Mills are also concerned that one of the three fertilised eggs they had frozen at the clinic may have been mistakenly implanted into someone else.
They have demanded that the clinic share what happened with all other patients who had embryos stored at the facility during the year before Score gave birth. They also want IVF Life to pay for genetic testing of every child born as a result of its services over the last five years, and to account for their remaining embryos.
The couple said in a statement: “We love our little girl. We would hope to be able to continue to raise her ourselves with confidence that she won’t be taken away from us.
“At the same time, we are aware that we have a moral obligation to find and notify her biological parents, as it is in her best interest that her genetic parents are provided the option to raise her as their own.”
A family spokesperson said: “Based upon leads discovered to date, and despite the lack of help or cooperation from the clinic, there is hope that we will be able to introduce our daughter to her genetic parents and to find our own genetic child soon.”
The lawsuit names IVF Life LLC and Dr Milton McNichol, who runs the clinic.
The Fertility Center of Orlando had posted a notice on its website stating it is “actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them.”
The notice was removed after a court hearing on Wednesday.
During the hearing, the judge ordered the clinic to submit a thorough plan for handling the situation by Friday.
McNichol was reprimanded by Florida’s Board of Medicine in May 2024 after an inspection of the clinic in June 2023 revealed several issues, including equipment that did not meet current performance standards, failure to comply with a risk-management plan and missing medication.
He was fined US$5,000.
Fertility innovation is to set to take centre stage at Femtech World’s third annual awards event.
The Femtech World Awards will celebrate some of the best examples of leadership, innovation and impact in key areas that affect women’s health and wellbeing.
The Fertility Innovation of the Year award celebrates a pioneering product, service or initiative that is transforming fertility care and support.
The winner will have demonstrated exceptional innovation in helping individuals or couples navigate fertility journeys, whether through technology, treatments, education, accessibility, or emotional support.
Consideration will be given to scientific advancement, inclusivity, user impact and the ability to break barriers in fertility health.
The award is sponsored by FinDBest IVF – a global B2B digital platform created to simplify and accelerate how IVF and ART manufacturers connect with trusted, pre-vetted distributors around the world.
Launched in 2024, the platform addresses a long-standing challenge in the MedTech sector—fragmented, costly, and inefficient market access—by offering a curated, country-specific directory of active partners, complete with key segmentation, certification indicators, and direct contact tools.
From consumables and lab equipment to AI-powered embryo selection and genetic testing solutions, FinDBest makes it faster and easier for companies to scale internationally—without relying on expensive congresses or cold outreach.
Juan A. Jiménez is founder and CEO of FinDBest IVF.
He said: “As part of its commitment to driving smarter access to reproductive innovation, FinDBest IVF is proudly supporting the Femtech World Fertility Innovation Awards for the second year in a row.
“This collaboration reflects two core beliefs at the heart of the platform.
“First, FinDBest IVF was created to accelerate not only the discovery of innovative fertility solutions but their global adoption.
“By supporting these awards, the platform helps amplify breakthrough technologies—from AI-based egg quality tools to next-gen IVF microdevices—and ensures they can reach the right partners and clinics faster.
“Second, the Awards align with FinDBest’s vision of building a 360-degree commercialisation ecosystem, where innovation is not just recognised, but connected to real-world opportunities.
“Many award nominees are pioneering startups and clinical researchers—exactly the kind of innovators who benefit from FinDBest’s support in navigating regulatory complexity, distributor validation, and go-to-market strategies across diverse regions.
“Together with Femtech World, FinDBest IVF is helping to spotlight, support, and scale the future of fertility care.”
Find out more about the Femtech World Awards and enter for free here.
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