Why Kashmir Needs Public IVF Now

For many couples in the valley, the desire to have a child comes with fear, debt, and social blame. The state's silence makes the burden heavier.

- Dr Fiaz Maqbool Fazili

Infertility in Jammu and Kashmir is now a public health problem that scars lives, strains marriages, and damages mental health.

Families drain their savings and carry lasting emotional pain while public health policy looks the other way.

In a society where having children carries deep social meaning, infertility reaches far beyond medicine.

Women bear the heavier share of blame.

Marriages strain, isolation sets in, and anxiety and depression take hold.

Despite this, Jammu and Kashmir still does not have a single government-run IVF or assisted reproductive technology centre.

This absence is striking, especially when private clinics have expanded rapidly in both the valley and Jammu.

The gap shows a clear policy failure.

Public data already signals the scale of the problem. The National Family Health Survey places Jammu and Kashmir's total fertility figure at 1.4, far below replacement level.

Clinicians report that 10 to 15 percent of married couples struggle to conceive, a figure consistent with national trends.

Delayed marriages, environmental exposure, untreated infections, hormonal disorders, obesity, smoking, and prolonged psychosocial stress linked to decades of conflict all play a part.

Still, infertility remains framed as bad luck rather than a medical condition that deserves structured care.