All you need to know about Assisted Reproductive Technology

Innovations in the field of reproductive medicine.

- Monika Agarwal

Infertility is a fairly common problem, affecting an estimated 15% couples globally. The burden of the problem is even more pronounced in developing countries like India. As per WHO, one in four couples in reproductive age in India faces difficulty in getting pregnant. This comes with a lot of emotional and social stigma. Most of these couples are reluctant to discuss about their fertility issues openly which hampers the possibility of timely diagnosis and treatment. Scientists all over the world have been working tirelessly to find treatments to overcome infertility issues and the biggest breakthrough was the birth of Louise Brown on 25th July, 1978 in England.

She is the first baby to be born after successful IVF treatment in the world after years of efforts from Dr Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and their team.

Louise Brown’s birth is one of the biggest landmarks in the field of infertility treatment. Over these 42 years more than 8 million children have been born through various “Assisted Reproductive Techniques” including IVF as well as several other advanced techniques which have evolved since then. To mark the greatest innovation in the field of reproductive medicine this day i.e. 25th July is celebrated as the World IVF day every year.

What are the common causes of Infertility?