In 1978, the first baby born via in vitro fertilization (IVF) came into the world. Since then, IVF methods and success rates have greatly increased.
Today, IVF births are much more common and account for millions of births around the world. In Canada, around 7,000 babies are born each year with the help of IVF science. Fertility technology has rapidly improved around the world in the last handful of decades.
Conversely, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infertility rates are rising. The World Health Organization says about 60 to 80 million couples worldwide struggle with infertility.
Canada’s total fertility rate (TFR) dropped to its lowest level on record in 2022. Infertility is one factor of many when it comes to the recent TFR—the COVID-19 pandemic likely played a role, along with the economic and social repercussions of a worldwide public health crisis.
Additionally, the average age at childbirth for both mothers and fathers is on the rise, and the rate of “childlessness” is also trending higher.
The Past: A Brief History of Fertility Treatments
In the 1920s, medical researchers identified the female fertility hormone estrogen and progesterone, and in 1943, hormone supplements were developed for fertility. The 1950s saw IVF testing on mice and rabbits, while in the 1960s, drugs to boost fertility were developed. In the ‘60s researchers also retrieved and fertilized human eggs.
Scientist Sir Robert Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work with Dr. Patrick Steptoe in achieving the first live birth via IVF in England in 1978. Doctors and scientists across the world embraced this new technology at the time. In the 1980s in Canada, hospital units and dedicated IVF clinics started to pop up around the country.
Due to an initial lack of oversight and IVF regulation, shortly thereafter there was considerable backlash in terms of accountability within the scientific community. The federal government of Canada subsequently established the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.
The Present: Infertility on the Rise
Access to fertility treatment has increased over the years, opening windows of possibility for families who otherwise might not be able to conceive. On the other hand, infertility is on the rise in the modern era.
Approximately 1 in 6 Canadian couples struggle with infertility today. Lifestyle and environmental factors may play a role in this—things like sexually transmitted infections, poor diet, stress, smoking, alcohol use or abuse can all impact fertility.
Microplastics (tiny polymers that are shed by the plastic humans produce) are in our food and water, and have recently been found in human testicles, as well as placenta, stool, blood and breast milk.
In an interview with Scientific American, environmental health researcher Tracey Woodruff says there is cause for concern when it comes to the presence of microplastics in our bodies, and what this could mean for our reproductive health. In fact, Woodruff and her colleagues have determined through systematic review that microplastics are a reproductive toxicant, meaning they can impact fertility.
The Future
In vitro gametogenesis (IVG) has sometimes been called “the future of fertility”. According to Medicine at Brown University, this technology would allow scientists to take cells from a person’s mouth or skin and turn those cells into eggs or sperm to create an embryo.
These technologies come with many ramifications and ethical concerns, but they also provide promise—especially when it comes to simplifying the IVF process.
There have been amazing milestones reached by researchers, scientists and doctors in the world of reproductive health over the past century. And progress is ongoing—for example, egg freezing was still labeled experimental in 2012.
Science is only one factor impacting fertility treatments and the way we navigate creating new life. Issues surrounding ethics and politics have also played their part.
This progress has granted many people the opportunity to start a family, and without these scientific breakthroughs, the same families might struggle to fulfill those dreams. Wherever this leads us in the future, the impacts of this research on our cultural experience have been and will likely continue to be profound.