Why Fertility Treatment Usage Is Exploding in Canada

Fertility treatment is becoming increasingly common in Canada. But why?On this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt dig into the dramatic rise of IVF and fertility treatment in Canada, and what it tells us about how Canadians are building families.IVF births in Ontario have nearly doubled as a share of all live births since 2014, while the average age of patients starting IVF has climbed past 35. As Canadians spend longer in school, establish careers later, face higher housing and living costs, and delay parenthood, more people are turning to fertility treatment to help build the families they want.But access to fertility care can depend heavily on where you live. Cara and Mike look at the geographic lottery of fertility treatment, differences in provincial funding, long waitlists, workplace benefits, and the often-overlooked costs of IVF, including time away from work and travel for treatment.The bigger question is what happens when more Canadians are trying to have children later in life.Is Canada's fertility system prepared for growing demand? And should policymakers be looking beyond IVF to the housing, career and economic pressures that are pushing parenthood later?#IVF #Fertility #Canada #Demographics #FertilityTreatment #OntarioChapters:00:00 Introduction00:42 The Economic Reality of Delayed Parenthood01:28 Why is Fertility Treatment Usage Up?02:44 Biology and Success Rates03:08 Analyzing the Data Surge04:16 The Geographic Lottery of Fertility Access05:22 The Biological Realities06:41 The Myth of Fertility Control07:44 Rising Complications in Younger Patients08:27 Male Factor Infertility08:42 The High Cost of Treatment and Waitlists10:03 The Hidden Costs (Time & Travel)11:34 Workplace Benefits and Trends12:01 Recap and Future Outlook13:01 Policy Responses and Root CausesResearch/links:Publicly funded in-vitro fertilization (IVF) program - Province of British Columbia Canadian assisted reproductive technologies registry CARTR PLUs annual report CARTR Reports - Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society Provincial coverage | Fertility Matters Canada https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1007375/ontario-connecting-more-families-to-fertility-supportshttps://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/in-vitro-fertilization-marketHosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/