1 in 7 couples in Canada seek help to conceive, mostly when woman older: report

TORONTO – A new report suggests that about one in seven Canadian couples trying to have a child seeks medical help to conceive.

The Statistics Canada report is based on the 2009-2010 Canadian Community Health Survey, which found about 380,000 couples turned to doctors when the woman was unable to get pregnant.

Data show couples in which the woman was aged 35 to 44 were two to three times more likely to seek help than were couples in which the woman was 25 to 29.

The survey also shows childless couples were four to five times more likely to seek medical assistance than were those with at least one child.

Among couples seeking help, about two in five reported using fertility-enhancing drugs and one in five said they used assisted reproductive techniques, such as in-vitro fertilization.

It is unknown whether the use of assisted reproductive techniques is increasing, as the 2009-2010 survey was the first national population-based questionnaire to look at its prevalence.

However, the Canadian Assisted Reproduction Technologies Register shows the number of annual procedures performed has risen steadily over the last decade.

The report’s authors suggest this upward trend could continue, particularly if more provinces start providing coverage for the cost of treatments, as is the case in Quebec.