Involuntary Childlessness Stable Across 1916 to 1975 Birth Cohorts

THURSDAY, July 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of primary and secondary involuntary childlessness changed little across 1916 to 1975 birth cohorts, but assisted reproductive technology (ART) success increased over time, according to a study published online July 12 in PLOS ONE.

Finn Egil Skjeldestad, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Norway in Tromsø, studied infertility outcomes among women of reproductive age during the past 50 years in a survey study conducted among Tromsø residents aged 40 to 98 years and examined differences across birth cohorts.

Skjeldestad found that the incidence of primary involuntary childlessness was significantly higher in the 1956 to 1975 cohort versus the 1916 to 1955 cohort (6.0 versus 3.7 percent). Across all birth cohorts, the incidence of secondary involuntary childlessness was higher than that of primary involuntary childlessness and was highest for the 1966 to 1975 cohort (10 percent versus 6 to 7 percent for all other birth cohorts). From the oldest to the youngest birth cohorts, an increasing proportion of women reported infertility examination and ART. Over time, the success of ART increased, reaching 58 and 46 percent for primary and secondary infertility, respectively, in the 1966 to 1975 cohort. Voluntarily childless women accounted for 5 to 6 percent and 9 to 10 percent of the 1916 to 1955 and the 1956 to 1975 cohorts, respectively.

"Whereas women born before 1936 received hardly any ART or reported any ART success, this success increased by birth cohort, reaching nearly 60 percent and 40 percent for women treated for primary and secondary infertility, respectively, in the youngest birth cohort," Skjeldestad writes.

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