How ART Has Redefined Fertility For Modern Families

Historically, society has always encouraged people, but especially women, to have children younger in life. Science does agree that infertility risks increase in women over age 35. However, the reality is that people are delaying parenthood for a variety of reasons. From simply being on the fence about wanting children to opting to pursue a career or become financially secure before parenthood, every decision is valid. Thanks to modern advancements in the field of fertility and especially with assisted reproductive technology (ART), people have more options for when and how to start a family.

Creating solutions for cancer survivors

Fertility treatments aren't just about helping women and couples conceive immediately. Sometimes, ART technologies are designed to protect and preserve conception odds in the future. The goal is essential for younger people diagnosed with cancer. Specifically, some treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, can cause sterility. For younger cancer patients, oncologists may encourage individuals to either provide semen samples or have ovarian tissue frozen as a preventative solution that preserves the option of starting a family in the future.

Giving women time

As mentioned previously, more women are choosing to delay parenthood. Most people cite the need to become established in a career or reach specific benchmarks like having significant savings or buying a home as the top explanations for waiting to conceive. Whatever the reasons, year over year, more women are waiting until after age 30. As a preventative measure, some 20-somethings are choosing to have eggs harvested and frozen to use at a later date. In most cases, individuals choosing this path will usually rely on either in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) with zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) to achieve conception.

Redefining what families look like

Historically, families have been defined as children raised by a heterosexual parental unit with a man and a woman. These days, families come in so many different forms, including single parents and same-sex parental groups. The definition of a parent has changed significantly over the years, and ART supports that modern version of the family. Single women may prefer to have children independently and undergo IUI or IVF. Meanwhile, a gay or lesbian couple may want to start a family and may rely on donor eggs and sperm, a surrogate, or even reciprocal IVF.

Helping infertile couples

Probably the most widely understood reason to rely on fertility treatments is when one or both members of a heterosexual couple are infertile. From poor sperm quality to difficulty tracking ovulation or simply unexplained infertility, this cohort is most obviously associated with ART. Because so many options exist, from IVF and IUI to modifications like assisted hatching, TET, GIFT, and ZIFT, the fertility field is giving people more control over how to conceive in a way that most aligns with any specific conditions identified through testing.

Modern families are about choice

Although ART treatments are historically designed to combat infertility, the reality is that a wider audience can reap the benefits generated by the scientific field. From delaying pregnancy to achieving a family when options previously weren't available, modern science has revolutionized the fertility world.