·S1 E200

Why Fertility Treatment Usage Is Exploding in Canada

August 21

14 mins

Episode Description

Fertility treatment is becoming increasingly common in Canada. But why?

On this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt dig into the dramatic rise of IVF and fertility treatment in Canada, and what it tells us about how Canadians are building families.

IVF births in Ontario have nearly doubled as a share of all live births since 2014, while the average age of patients starting IVF has climbed past 35. As Canadians spend longer in school, establish careers later, face higher housing and living costs, and delay parenthood, more people are turning to fertility treatment to help build the families they want.

But access to fertility care can depend heavily on where you live. Cara and Mike look at the geographic lottery of fertility treatment, differences in provincial funding, long waitlists, workplace benefits, and the often-overlooked costs of IVF, including time away from work and travel for treatment.

The bigger question is what happens when more Canadians are trying to have children later in life.

Is Canada's fertility system prepared for growing demand? And should policymakers be looking beyond IVF to the housing, career and economic pressures that are pushing parenthood later?

#IVF #Fertility #Canada #Demographics #FertilityTreatment #Ontario

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:42 The Economic Reality of Delayed Parenthood

01:28 Why is Fertility Treatment Usage Up?

02:44 Biology and Success Rates

03:08 Analyzing the Data Surge

04:16 The Geographic Lottery of Fertility Access

05:22 The Biological Realities

06:41 The Myth of Fertility Control

07:44 Rising Complications in Younger Patients

08:27 Male Factor Infertility