Study quantifies long term trends in childlessness and infertility treatment
The analysis estimates 53.6 million affected women in 2023 and projects 79.6 million by 2036, with the burden shifting toward higher-income countries.
- A new study published Monday in the Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health projects infertility among women aged 35-49 will surge from 53.6 million in 2023 to nearly 79.6 million by 2036.
- Experts caution that Global Burden of Disease data reflects modelled figures dependent on healthcare access and diagnostic services rather than purely biological factors, with Belgium recording 8,499 cases per 100,000 women versus Germany's 2,195.
- Scientific director Rocío Núñez Calonge attributes the rise in infertility among older women to a progressive delay in motherhood driven by social, economic, and occupational factors rather than biological decline alone.
- Guillermo Antiñolo Gil, a professor at the University of Seville, argues that reproductive health strategies must extend beyond medical interventions to address structural barriers including work-life balance and economic stability.
- Historical data from Finn Egil Skjeldestad at the Arctic University of Norway confirms that primary involuntary childlessness rose to 6.0% in women born 1956-75, compared to 3.7% in those born 1916-55.
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18 Articles
La Vanguardia
Proceso DigitalAbout 53.6 million people of advanced reproductive age were affected in 2023
The rate of infertility is increasing worldwide among women of advanced reproductive age (between 35 and 49 years), with approximately 53.6 million of them being affected in 2023, according to a study quoted by the EFE press agency on Tuesday and published in The Lancet: Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health.
Birth rates are falling in the industrial nations, and one reason for this is that women only want to have children at an older age.
Millions of women worldwide are affected by unwanted childlessness. A new study shows a dramatic increase in cases and expects a further increase. What are the reasons for this phenomenon?
New study: Significant increase in women between the ages of 35 and 49. Experts, however, see opportunities to stabilize the trend.
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