Report reveals that a third of parents in the U.S have used fertility treatments

33% of American adults have undergone treatment for fertility

A report carried out on couples in America by a Pew Research Center survey has found that a third of U.S. adults say they have used fertility treatments. Fertility treatments include several different procedures, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S refers to the subset of fertility treatments that involve handling embryos or eggs in a lab – including IVF – as “assisted reproductive technology”. Since the mid-nineties, approximately 1 million babies who were born in North America were as a result of fertility treatments, according to Pew Research Center estimates based on data collected from fertility clinics. In 2016 alone more than 75,000 babies were conceived using assisted reproductive technology. The use of fertility treatments, like IVF, is becoming more common in Ireland. Also on the rise is the number of young women freezing their eggs for use later on in life. This is partly due to the cost of living in Ireland pushing more couples into waiting longer before starting a family. New advances in IVF technology has seen the percentage of couples successfully conceive after treatment rise steadily. In recent years the Rotunda IVF clinic in Dublin saw over 56 per cent of couples in their 30s become pregnant and over 48 per cent of couples in their late 30s and early 40s becoming parents after treatment. I have known many couples who struggled to become pregnant and others who were never able to conceive at all. It's extremely heartbreaking and something that all couples hoping to become parents dread. Thanks to advances in fertility treatments and better education on how to look after your body before becoming pregnant, fewer couples are finding themselves without the option of becoming parents. In Ireland, one in five couples will not conceive within the first year of trying to fall pregnant, with one in ten struggling to conceive a second child. Sometimes it just takes time but experts usually recommend seeking fertility advice if you are over 35 and have been trying to conceive for over six months. I ran into difficulty when trying to conceive a second child. I wrongly assumed it would be easy like it had been on my first pregnancy but myself and my husband were trying for just under a year before we got a positive result. Conception is something we often take for granted as a natural occurrence but many couples find there are hurdles along the road to pregnancy. If you feel that you may need help with your fertility visit your local GP or women's clinic for advice.