Toward a national strategy to combat infertility and fertility decline
Type de matériel :
91
With 3.3 million people directly affected in France, infertility has become a major public health issue, yet it has never been treated as such by the public authorities. In France, as in all industrialized countries, the rise in infertility is primarily the result of the age of childbirth increasing. Over the last four decades, this age has increased by five years. In 2019, French women had their first child at an average age of 29. As fertility gradually declines from the age of 30, so-called “late motherhood” automatically increases the risk of infertility. This increase in the age at which women have children is the result of a number of societal factors, including women playing a larger role in the labor market, and the development of contraceptive techniques. Sociologists have also identified other factors, including a possible reduction in the desire for children among the younger generations, the search for professional and emotional stability before deciding to start a family, the economic crisis, and the absence of any public policy that helps reconcile family and professional life. In addition, the ignorance of many couples about the reality of the decline in their fertility with age, combined with excessive confidence in the performance of medically assisted reproduction (MAR), has resulted in a demand for increasingly late medical support, thus limiting success rates. Environmental factors are also behind the rise in infertility. A meta-analysis carried out in 2017 showed a decline of more than 50% in sperm concentration in men in industrialized countries between 1973 and 2011, a rate that has continued since then. This phenomenon is linked in particular to regular exposure to endocrine disruptors. Furthermore, recent studies show the negative impact of Western lifestyles on the fertility of men and women, particularly during the pre-conceptional period, i.e., the 6 months preceding pregnancy: smoking or cannabis consumption, obesity, eating disorders, and so on. These behaviors could even have a trans-generational effect, with consequences on the health and reproductive function of the unborn child. Infertility is also very often linked to medical causes. In women, it can have a mechanical origin, such as endometriosis, a widespread but still poorly understood pathology that causes tubal obstruction. It can also be of hormonal origin. For example, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of menstrual cycle disorders and lack of ovulation. Infertility in men can be endocrine, testicular, or related to genital tract damage. The most common cause is varicoceles. Despite the multiple causes, which are themselves often combined, infertility has long remained a blind spot for public authorities. A first step was therefore to identify these causes and to formulate concrete ways of combating them. In this respect, the mission presents six areas for improvement, which form the framework of an operational plan for the prevention of infertility. These areas comprise educating and informing individuals and groups about infertility risk factors, improving infertility prevention training for physicians and other health professionals, developing research in the field of human reproduction, promoting the infertility issue as a national priority, improving the current lack of coordination between different stakeholders, and creating a “National Fertility Institute” that represents the discipline.
Réseaux sociaux