Fertility rate of Indian couples halves, says report

The fertility rate of Indian couples has plummeted by more than 50 per cent, according to the World Population Prospects 2017 Revision report.

The fertility rate has dropped from 4.97 in 197580 to 2.3 in 2015-20.

The report states that by 2025-30, it will further nose dive to 2.1 and dip lower to 1.86 by 2045-50. The dip in the fertility rate is more prominent in the last one decade.

Dr Preeti Reddy, senior infertility specialist, says that of 100 couples, she sees, 20 couples have issues of fertility.

“The number a decade earlier was only 10 or 13 couples per 100. But this increase shows that there is an urgent need for young couples in India to understand the causes of infertility,” she said.

Couples are getting married at a later age and having children at a later age too in urban India. Medical causes such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, fibroids, and genital TB are some of the other causes.

Gynaecologist Dr Sri Latha Gorthi puts it down to couples not understanding many of the causes behind infertility.

“Having a child is very important in the context of Indian families. But there is a new emerging concept that couples can take some medicines or opt for IVF treatments and have a child. These are new trends which are being seen after a calculative delay on the part of the couple. It is important for them to understand that fertility is time-bound and there is a right time and age to have a good and healthy baby,” Dr Gorthi says.

Andrologists in infertility clinics in the city are seeing two to three men on a daily basis who suffer from low sperm count, obesity, addiction and stress. These factors show that the issues in young men require to be tackled effectively much earlier and there is a need to generate awareness on causes of infertility in men.

Gynaecologist and infertility specialist Dr Roya Rozati explains: “One of the most important reasons (for infertility) that we have found in the multiple studies that were carried out for the Indian Council of Medical Research is the increasing pollution in urban areas. Apart from vehicular pollution, the contamination of food with pesticides is a major reason for the problem of infertility. The use of pesticides, growth hormones in fish, meat, and dairy products is one of the major reasons for the increasing rate of infertility.”