Couples and Infertility
In July 1978, Louise Brown, the world's first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization was born. Since then, thousands of children have been born every year thanks to medically assisted procreation.

Today, the percentage of couples who experience problems conceiving is somewhere between 8% and 15%. Although this percentage has not changed in industrialized countries over several decades, the number of couples seeking medical assistance for this problem has increased. It is true that the issue of infertility is much less taboo than it once was and that it is much easier for couples to consult specialists. Another reason why more and more couples are turning to medically assisted procreation is the fact that they choose to have children later in life. Case in point, the average age of first-time mothers is currently 29 years old whereas it is said that fertility begins to decrease at 24-25 years of age and reduces significantly after the age of 35.

A diagnosis that affects both partners
Specialists define infertility as the condition in which a healthy couple of childbearing age has not been able to conceive a child after one year, despite having sexual intercourse with the same partner on a regular basis and without using any contraceptive. When this problem persists for more than three years without treatment, chances of spontaneous conception are 0% to 3% per month, depending on the cause or causes of infertility. The role of the man and that of the woman is difficult to identify in the various causes of infertility. We can however, associate 30% to 40% of the cases with female infertility and 40% of the cases with male infertility. In about one third of the cases, both partners are responsible for the infertility. Finally, in about 5% to 10% of the cases, infertility cannot be explained and may put causal factors, yet unknown, into play.

When should couples turn to medically assisted procreation?
Medically assisted procreation methods are not suitable for all types of infertility. They are only used to treat cases that cannot benefit from any other type of treatment. For example, a woman experiencing difficulty ovulating can be treated with hormones to restore function to her ovaries. This being said, more and more people are resorting to medically assisted procreation because it is giving an increasing number of couples the opportunity to become parents even in complicated cases such as infertility resulting from a cancer treatment or unsuccessful surgery.