The specialty of IVF is critical to serving humanity.
This article attempts to explain why some people need to have children through In Vitro Fertilization (i.e. IVF), a portion of the science behind IVF, and the benefits of IVF to society.
Background:
1) In 2021, about 2% of the births in the USA were through IVF (i.e. In Vitro Fertilization), that accounts for more than 97,000 babies
2) The nationwide (USA) birthrate has fallen significantly between 2007 and 2022, by nearly 23%.
3) Birthrate declined for females aged 15–24, and rose for women aged 35–44.
4) A sperm is a single cell entity
5) An egg is a single cell entity
6) An embryo is a multi-cell entity (roughly 70-100 cells) at the time of being frozen (about 5 days after fertilization of the egg)
7) An adult male has about 36 trillion (36,000,000,000,000) cells and an adult female has 28 trillion (28,000,000,000,000) cells
8) There are serious genetic diseases that can be potentially avoided by IVF, while preserving the hopes of life. This is not to say that any “potential” for genetic diseases should be avoided at all costs. It is important to note that not all potentials become realities. There are errors that can be made, and other potentially negative consequences can happen while attempting to determine “the potentials”. One should consult multiple legitimate experts who can help determine such possibilities and use one’s own judgement to assess the possibility. Many recoveries/successes/achievements were deemed “impossible” or “can never achieve” or “will not happen” or “cannot recover”, before it becomes possible, was achieved, happened or recovered. Similarly, drastic actions due to potentials/possibilities/probability can have other unintended negative consequences and that possibility may never happen.
9) The field of IVF has matured significantly in many aspects, ranging from science, cold-chain transportation, to surgical procedures, etc.
10) The early physicians entered into this field, often based on a calling, now more physicians enter this field either because of their personal experience or based on their desire to help families/people to start a family.
11) Some people (men and women) choose not to have children in their entire life due to many reasons. Lifestyle choices are individuals’ choices.
Analysis:
For some people, procreation is a basic human instinct. However, due to many factors, such an instinct may not be realized by many people until they are in their 30s, 40s, 50s or later. Additionally, many other factors contribute to the delay in child birth in women, such as undiagnosed illnesses that prevent them from having children, the lack of a suitable partner until later in life or at all, divorces, infertility, etc.
However, once men and women realize, one day, that they would like to have children, they have the potential to dedicate everything they have to reach this goal. This includes time, energy, money, attention and other resources.
Some people are married early and have had their own children without any issues relatively earlier in life. It is understandable that these folks can sometimes have a hard time understanding the issues faced by single men/women or infertile men/women. It is a real blessing to have happy marriages, but folks in such situations sometimes forget the issues faced by single people because singlehood has become such a distant memory. However, many happily married people and single people understand other people’ desires to start a family.
Of course, adoption is a great way to start/complete a family as well. Many families achieve the goal of having children through adoption. But for people who wish to have children of their own with their own DNA, the way to reach this goal, other than becoming pregnant through intercourse, is through IVF. This is because many people (including men and women) wish to have a desirable setup before becoming pregnant through intercourse, such as a stable marriage, solid financial foundation, suitable partner who will make great mother/father to the children, achieving the greatest possibility of avoiding serious genetic diseases, etc.
It is worth repeating that there are serious genetic diseases that can be potentially avoided by IVF, while preserving the hopes of life. This is not to say that any “potential” for genetic diseases should be avoided at all costs. It is important to note that not all potential becomes reality. There are errors that can be made while attempting to determine “the potential”. One should consult multiple legitimate experts who can help determine such potential and, ultimately, use one’s own judgement to assess the possibility, based on their risk tolerance and other factors. Many recoveries/successes/achievements were deemed “impossible” or “can never achieve” or “will not happen” or “cannot recover”, before it was achieved/recovered/happened.
Conclusion:
We believe In Vitro Fertilization is a much-needed field and it took the field more than 40 years to mature to the stage that we are at today. It is impossible to account for all the relevant factors and science in one short article, but we want to illustrate about 1% of the reason why In Vitro Fertilization is beneficial to society.
In fact, we believe the field/specialty of IVF is critical to serving humanity.
Disclaimer:
This article does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your specific situation. Lifestyle choices are individuals’ choices.
It is written by Eggschain editors, a) medically reviewed by Dr. Carolyn Thompson who is a board-certified OB/gyn, FACOG MD in Medicine, and b) is also medically reviewed Hugh Taylor, MD, the Anita O’Keeffe Young Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is also Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology at Yale University.
References:
IVF Has Largely Restarted in Alabama. Patients Are Still Worried. – WSJ
U.S. birth rate declined 30% in 15 years — here’s where, mapped (axios.com)
