China's Fertility Falls

The so-called tide of infertility that affects 10% of couples worldwide is now lapping at China's shores. A report by the Spanish news agency La Agencia EFE, S.A. reveals that China's fertility is in decline.
Work Pressure Inhibits Maternity
Twenty years ago, 3% of couples in China of childbearing had problems conceiving. This figure has since risen to 12.5-15% -- close behind the 15-20% infertility rate in developed countries. One in every eight couples in China, generally in the 25-to-30 age range, experiences problems with procreation, according to the 2009 Investigative Report on the Current State of Infertility in China released in August 2009 at the China International Summit Forum on Infertility.
Ms Lin, 35, is a white-collar worker at a foreign-owned company. Her fast-paced working life consumes her energy to the extent that the bus journey home at the end of a working day is one of her happiest moments. Lin admits that it was pressure of work that led her to postpone starting a family. She now regrets letting her most fertile years pass her by.
When Lin and her husband decided to remedy their fertility problems by visiting the Reproductive Center of Beijing, she was shocked at the crowds of young couples there waiting for consultations. "I had no idea infertility was such a widespread problem," Lin said.
Reproductive health expert Wang Yifei confirms that work pressure is a main culprit. "The growing rate among urban women, especially those with a college education, of infertility is now higher than the world average." Results of a clinical research project headed by Zuo Wenli, director of the reproductive center of Peking University First Hospital, imply that the problem is also attributable to changes in life style, such as higher alcohol and tobacco consumption, crash diets and late marriage.
Pollution Kills Sperms
A polluted environment owing to industrialization and urbanization exacerbates incidence of conditions such as azoospermia (absence of spermatozoids), oligozoospermia (low spermatozoid concentration), and astenozoospermia (50% motile spermatozoa).
Statistics show a decline in sperm count compared with 30-40 years ago of 20-40 million, especially in areas of high urbanization. "Low and falling sperm count is the main culprit of infertility," Dr. Hong Kai of the Department of Urology and the Clinic of Andrology of Peking University Third Hospital said in a recent International Herald Tribune interview.
Artificial insemination and sperm banks are the most popular solutions to the problem. Couples start lining up outside the Reproduction Center of Peking University Third Hospital at 5 a.m. each day. By the time the doors open the line is generally 10 meters long. Many couples have been trying for as long as two years to conceive through intrauterine insemination. Those that fail often ended up divorcing.
Health Brings New Life
China appears to be following the same pattern of declining fertility as that in western countries. A British reproductive expert predicted four years ago that within a decade about one third of European and American couples of childbearing age would be unable to reproduce. Although the last resort of intrauterine insemination brings happiness to several thousand couples each year, fertility treatments often result in multiple births -- from twins to octuplets. Premature delivery is also common, as is the risk of birth complications among infants so conceived.
Two months ago, an American woman surnamed Masters gave birth to 9-week premature twins. The 51 days the infants spent in the incubator that enabled them to breathe generated hospital fees of US$12 million. These instances are fairly common in the US, Britain and Germany.
China should learn from western countries' mistakes. Living a healthier way of life, as well as resisting work pressure to postpone the age of marriage, is the best way of avoiding infertility. A healthy weight is important, because both obesity and excessive thinness affect a man's sperm count and a woman's menstrual cycle. Couples who want to be parents should also give up smoking and drinking. Research shows that imbibing alcohol five times a week affects a woman's reproductive capacity, and that cigarettes lower by 40% her chances of becoming pregnant.
Health brings life, so couples yearning for a bundle of joy are best advised to eat well, give up bad habits and keep fit.
The so-called tide of infertility that affects 10% of couples worldwide is now lapping at China's shores. A report by the Spanish news agency La Agencia EFE, S.A. reveals that China's fertility is in decline.
Work Pressure Inhibits Maternity
Twenty years ago, 3% of couples in China of childbearing had problems conceiving. This figure has since risen to 12.5-15% -- close behind the 15-20% infertility rate in developed countries. One in every eight couples in China, generally in the 25-to-30 age range, experiences problems with procreation, according to the 2009 Investigative Report on the Current State of Infertility in China released in August 2009 at the China International Summit Forum on Infertility.
Ms Lin, 35, is a white-collar worker at a foreign-owned company. Her fast-paced working life consumes her energy to the extent that the bus journey home at the end of a working day is one of her happiest moments. Lin admits that it was pressure of work that led her to postpone starting a family. She now regrets letting her most fertile years pass her by.
When Lin and her husband decided to remedy their fertility problems by visiting the Reproductive Center of Beijing, she was shocked at the crowds of young couples there waiting for consultations. "I had no idea infertility was such a widespread problem," Lin said.
Reproductive health expert Wang Yifei confirms that work pressure is a main culprit. "The growing rate among urban women, especially those with a college education, of infertility is now higher than the world average." Results of a clinical research project headed by Zuo Wenli, director of the reproductive center of Peking University First Hospital, imply that the problem is also attributable to changes in life style, such as higher alcohol and tobacco consumption, crash diets and late marriage.
Pollution Kills Sperms
A polluted environment owing to industrialization and urbanization exacerbates incidence of conditions such as azoospermia (absence of spermatozoids), oligozoospermia (low spermatozoid concentration), and astenozoospermia (50% motile spermatozoa).
Statistics show a decline in sperm count compared with 30-40 years ago of 20-40 million, especially in areas of high urbanization. "Low and falling sperm count is the main culprit of infertility," Dr. Hong Kai of the Department of Urology and the Clinic of Andrology of Peking University Third Hospital said in a recent International Herald Tribune interview.
Artificial insemination and sperm banks are the most popular solutions to the problem. Couples start lining up outside the Reproduction Center of Peking University Third Hospital at 5 a.m. each day. By the time the doors open the line is generally 10 meters long. Many couples have been trying for as long as two years to conceive through intrauterine insemination. Those that fail often ended up divorcing.
Health Brings New Life
China appears to be following the same pattern of declining fertility as that in western countries. A British reproductive expert predicted four years ago that within a decade about one third of European and American couples of childbearing age would be unable to reproduce. Although the last resort of intrauterine insemination brings happiness to several thousand couples each year, fertility treatments often result in multiple births -- from twins to octuplets. Premature delivery is also common, as is the risk of birth complications among infants so conceived.
Two months ago, an American woman surnamed Masters gave birth to 9-week premature twins. The 51 days the infants spent in the incubator that enabled them to breathe generated hospital fees of US$12 million. These instances are fairly common in the US, Britain and Germany.
China should learn from western countries' mistakes. Living a healthier way of life, as well as resisting work pressure to postpone the age of marriage, is the best way of avoiding infertility. A healthy weight is important, because both obesity and excessive thinness affect a man's sperm count and a woman's menstrual cycle. Couples who want to be parents should also give up smoking and drinking. Research shows that imbibing alcohol five times a week affects a woman's reproductive capacity, and that cigarettes lower by 40% her chances of becoming pregnant.
Health brings life, so couples yearning for a bundle of joy are best advised to eat well, give up bad habits and keep fit.