Cassie and Brady Staigh had been trying to have a baby for about three years when they finally decided to seek help.
The Regina couple were referred to a special clinic in Saskatoon and were told that in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment was their only option apart from trying on their own.
After being put on a wait-list in 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic further delayed the treatment as fertility clinics across the country were shut down.
It took multiple trips to Saskatoon from Regina for testing, ultrasounds and injections before the couple got pregnant. They welcomed their first child in June 2021.
“It’s definitely stressful just because there is like a lot of … unknown,” said Cassie, 28.
Besides the physical and emotional stress, the process also took a big financial toll on the Staighs, as they ended up spending upwards of $15,000.
“We got lucky with ours for the first time,” said Cassie. “If we had to do it again, I feel like again, it’s … a stressful financial burden.”
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Coverage for IVF treatment — where eggs are removed from a woman’s body and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory before being implanted back into the womb — varies across Canada, with seven provinces offering some form of financial assistance.
Yet there are still barriers to getting timely and affordable care, advocates say, with long wait times and limited health-care options.
Many, like the Staighs, have to travel out of town or to different provinces to get help.
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Across Canada, there are about 35 fertility clinics that perform roughly 20,000 cycles of fertility treatment in a year, according to Dr. Sony Sierra, CFAS president.
She told Global News there is an increasing demand, with more Canadians seeking fertility care each year.
“We are under-servicing a huge population of Canadians who actually need this care,” said Carolynn Dubé, executive director with Fertility Matters Canada.
“There is a significant need and we don’t have enough clinics to support the need that exists.”
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The problem is not unique to Canada, but is affecting people globally.
A new report released by World Health Organization this week found that roughly one in six people worldwide are affected by infertility in their lifetime, which can have “devastating consequences.”
WHO defines infertility as a disease in men or women who are unable to get pregnant after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex.
The report said most countries have “inadequate” policies and services, with challenges accessing quality interventions to prevent, diagnose and treat infertility.
“The sheer proportion of people affected show the need to widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no longer sidelined in health research and policy, so that safe, effective, and affordable ways to attain parenthood are available for those who seek it,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement with the report’s release on April 4.
Why is fertility declining in Canada?
Canada is considered a low-fertility country and its fertility rate has been declining over the past decade.
The latest Statistics Canada data from 2021 reported a fertility rate of 1.43 children per woman that went slightly up after a steady decline since 2009.
Fertility rate is an estimate of the average number of live births a female can be expected to have in her lifetime, according to StatCan.
Canada is considered a “late” childbearing nation, which contributes to the infertility rate in the country.
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In 2021, the average age of mothers at the time of delivery was 31.4 years old.
Advanced maternal age with couples delaying their plans to have kids is the most common reason for people seeking fertility care in Canada, said Sierra.
“Childbearing is being delayed and therefore rates of age-related infertility are naturally increasing,” she said.
In fact, across Canada the number of women and patients accessing fertility services for egg freezing doubled in the last year, Sierra said.
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The reproductive window gets shorter in your mid- to late 30s, said Dubé.
“So what’s happening is people are finding out that they have an issue with their fertility when they start to try.”
With the disease affecting millions of Canadians, Dubé said Canada needs a federal policy to address this “health crisis.”
“We believe that everybody has a right to parenthood and that we can do a better job here in supporting what that looks like for Canadians and people who live here.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — New Zealand won the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, beating South Africa by 32 runs on Sunday after a standout performance from Amelia Kerr with bat and ball.
South Africa’s chase was held to 126-9 in 20 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in reply to New Zealand’s 158-5 in the final of the 18-day tournament.
South Africa was also seeking to become a first-time champion.
After South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bowl, Kerr top scored for New Zealand with a 38-ball 43. Brooke Halliday hit 38 runs in 28 deliveries and opener Suzie Bates scored 32 in 31. Nonkululeko Mlaba took 2-31 in four overs for South Africa.
South Africa made a strong start to its chase, reaching 51-1 in 6.5 overs but never really threatened afterward, reaching the halfway stage of its innings at 64-3.
Wolvaardt top scored for South Africa with a 27-ball 33.
Kerr took 3-24 in her four overs, including Wolvaardt’s wicket.
This was South Africa’s second straight final appearance in the tournament. Losing to Australia by 19 runs, it had finished runners-up in its home tournament in 2023, its best result in the tournament.
New Zealand, meanwhile, reached the tournament final for the first time since 2010. In the first two editions – 2009 and 2010 – it had lost to England by six wickets in London, and to Australia by three runs in Barbados.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after an accident at home that left him with a cut in the neck, his office said.
The 78-year-old leader was scheduled to attend a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the city of Kazan from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
Hospital Sirio Libanês in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the leftist leader was instructed not to take long distance trips, but can keep his other activities. Doctors Roberto Kalil and Ana Heleno Germoglio said they will regularly check on Lula’s recovery.
Brazil’s presidency said in a separate statement that Lula will take part in the summit by videoconference and will continue his work in capital Brasilia this week. It did not disclose details about what caused the president’s injury.
