While most developed countries are facing a crash in their birth rates, what about the adults who are unable to have children? Update on the 20 Hours set with journalist and doctor Damien Mascret.
A WHO study estimates that 17.5% of the world’s population has a problem withinfertility. “This does not mean that 17.5% of the population of childbearing age is infertile, but that one in six people, at some point, failed to have a child in a 12 month period.“, specifies Damien Mascret, doctor and journalist for France Télévisions, on the set of 20 Hours.
The situation should get worse
The situation should not get better. In men, the sperm concentration in the semen fell by half in less than 50 years. “When we see the explanations, the trend will not be reversed: obesity, sedentary lifestyle, pollution and endocrine disruptors in our environment“, explains the doctor. On the women’s side, the average maternal age at the first child, which was 24 years in the 60s, is now 28.5 years. However, the fertility of women begins to decline at from 35 years old.
Among Our sources:
OMS (report in English)
Non-exhaustive list.
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