a national z m o that she's shy, you get a new budget bonded going you sit on the ground that by mia with infertility, a disease, a condition, a symptom or a disability. this aspect is highly debated and there are very diverse opinions on it. according to a world health organization, it defines in fertility to be a disease of the reproductive system by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse. but others say it's not a disease. rather it's a disability or symptom. there maybe an atomic or physiological anomalies, or it is the person's fault for waiting too long. as fertility declines with age,

some can conceive with one partner, but not with another, et cetera. so in these specific cases and fertility could be considered not a disease. but why does this matter? it matters because governments are unlikely to fund in fertility if it is not considered a disease. and the cost of infertility without aid is a high price to bear for most families. today, i'm christie. i and you're watching the cost of everything. and today, we're going to be discussing the sensitive topic of the cost of infertility and how this is becoming a world wide problem with according to the centers for disease control and prevention in fertility rates are rising about 9 percent of men and 11 percent of women of reproductive age in the us

have experienced fertility problems, southern and eastern europe and east asia has some of the lowest fertility rates with $1.00 children per woman. and while it is unclear what is behind this trend, one high pos, this is, is that a new chron, disrupting chemicals or environmental factors may play a role here. so what is the cost of infertility? not only can the mental and emotional cause not be quantified, but it can get really expensive for those wanting to start a family. there are many options on the market, but it comes at a real financial burden. people can choose to pursue inter uterine in some nation in vitro fertilization, surrogacy or adoption. and these costs can reach 6 figures in many cases. if one goes for inter uterine insemination, which involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus to increase the chances of fertilization that can cost up to $2000.00 per cycle, depending on the clinic. the type of medication used in any follow up blood work

and monitoring. for i v f, the average cost of a single cycle which includes ovarian stimulation, ag retrieval, and we'll transfer can range anywhere from $15000.00 to $30000.00 depending on where you live. this figure doesn't even include the price of necessary fertility drugs and tufty, which an add up to an additional $3000.00 per cycle. not to mention the expenses associated with pregnancy and a hospital delivery each cycle. it takes almost 3 months for a full round, and most couples that have to undergo, i've asked you to infertility or miscarriages on average, go through 3 rounds to have a successful embryo transfer like other extremely delicate medical procedures. ibm in both highly trained professionals and sophisticated laboratories and equipment. adoption is always another option, but that too is expensive. the average cost of adoption is around $50000.00 at is

includes the medical expenses for the birth mother, attorney fees, financial workers, and counselors. there are also orphanage fees and country fees if it's an international adoption too. and it is not always a guarantee that each adoption attempt will be successful. surrogacy is the most expensive option and the biggest variable, depending on where whether or not the surrogate is being paid. in situations where a family member carries the baby that can actually save quite a bit on cost. but if you're getting an experience carrier, then costs for a surrogate can range from $30000.00 to $60000.00, and that's only for a single child. if the surrogate is carrying twins or multiples, then the fee can be even higher. and far more, let's bring in and pamela hersch, co founder of baby quest. so pamela, there's

a big personal element to the cost of fertility to families. so what is the issue, and why is it so close to you? about $1312.00 or 13 years ago, i was totally unfamiliar with in fertility with the cost or anything related because i was completely involved in another business at that time our daughter who was 28 and she and her husband decided to try to have a child fast forward, many months, many long months of i you eyes switching to i v f for i v f. each time many embryos were extreme retrieved. and each i v up a successful until the 9th week, when after hearing the heartbeat, she suffered a miscarriage. she was later told that she could not carry her own child. so this became a dashboard she now has. ready 2 children, each born each carried by

a surrogate. this opened the world of infertility to me and made me realize what the costs were and made me also realize that there wasn't much help for those people who couldn't afford it. we were very fortunate financially to be able to help our daughter and son in law. and so many people are not. and this is what made me create baby quest to help those people who cannot afford the cost of ivy f surrogacy embryo donation. anything associated with assisted reproduction. absolutely, and many people think that i v f is a safety net and they put off having kids until much later in life. so how does that affect things? that's only one factor. yes, that's true. dar, many women who went to establish their career to their education and establish a career before they want to start having

a family which is definitely understandable. but there are other factors that are contributing to the increasing number of i v of the availability of genetic testing. people who are struggling and who have or who are carriers for diseases like cystic fibrosis or taste sacks. these diseases can now be eliminated from the fear of passing them on to future generations, because you can do genetic testing. that creates the necessity for i v f to do genetic testing to know which embryos are free of the disease that you want to eliminate. another reason for id up and for the increase to make it same sex parents to women or to man involved in same sex relationships who desire to have children. obviously they needs physical intervention, sperm donation a donation to enable them to have a child. so all of those are contributing factors to what creates an increase in

the number of i vs. and does insurance cover i via because in fertility is a disease and one would think that it should be fully covered. one would think that that is a quite an assumption because even states in the united states where it states mandate coverage, it's very easy for an employer to opt out of covering certain things. sometimes sometimes employers will cover in fertility just up to the diagnosis where the person finds out that he or she has a problem, but you got there is no coverage beyond that, and that's with the expense start. so it is really difficult if it's very advantageous, obviously for a woman or man to have insurance coverage for ibm through their employer and guest . that seems to be a trend. and especially as

a trend that makes an employer more attractive if that employer offers ivy f or fertility coverage to employees. but it's not a guarantee. and so many people still do not have proper insurance coverage covering for infertility. and also even those people we found who have lost their fertility because the cancer you would think that would be a given definitely the, their fertility treatment should be covered. not true. often people who have tried care insurance from the military. he would think that again, they serve the country, they should have insurance tricare should cover military hover. i've yeah for infertility and it does not. so many people are left on whether you consider this a condition or not. many people are left without proper insurance coverage for in fertility, which is why baby plastic been able to help in that row. yes. and are there certain

groups of people or ethnicities that are more prone to infertility than others? that i really don't know the statistics on that. i know that big west strives to respect diversity. our recipients show a cross section of diversity and that's very important to us. and we do get applications from most all minority groups as far as statistics that i'd really can't can't talk about as and i guess which countries are experiencing declining populations as a result of declining birth rates. and do you think that there's going to be a problem in the future? again, you know, i am just more concerned rather than with the statistics and me worldly. you know, the implications around the world. i'm just really more of an expert in either you asked surrogacy and any united states, what a cos,

who needs that? and how to help those who are indeed. all right, thank you so much, pamela, but stick around because we have some more to discuss after the break. and when we come back, who are the most affected, my infertility. and what is causing in fertility? well, has that after the break with ah, [000:00:00;00] a new rule. yes, to shape out the same becomes the african and engagement equals the trail.

when so many find themselves worlds of horn, we choose to look for common ground. ah, in 1834 france invaded algeria, and straight away the french started inhabiting it to strengthen their position. the colonists, known as p a. no ours took the best land from day one, the local population was put into an unequal position and was brutally exploited. this caused mass discontent. the people of algeria began their long term fight for independence. in 1954, the banner of freedom was raised by the national liberation front. a guerrilla war

against the occupants broke out. the french tried to suppress the rebellion using cruel measures. full villages were wiped out acts of georgia and executions of civil people, including pregnant women, children and old people took place more than 2000000 people were put into concentration camps. however, these punitive measures didn't help the algerian patriots managed to induce france to start these negotiations. in 1962 evian records were signed, voting algeria in the past, towards independence. but this was achieved at a colossal price. algeria by rights is considered to be a country of martyrs. according to the calculations of historians, the french colonists are responsible for the deaths of one and a half 1000000 algerians.

foreign policy is rarely front and center and american electoral politics. however, biden's nato proxy war in ukraine against russia is turning into an exception, as long as it takes and blank checks are not going down well with the g o p base. can republicans afford to continue to support and biden's war 2. rescue consider with women. this is sort of what the law school, your thorbe you only for, for with our

white glove. you know we do marbles with border slash look logical. yeah. because i thought that was good enough. i did wonders was included in the social skills, often much neutral. this globally record what, what so butcher just ah, it is estimated that 48000000 couples and a 186000000 individuals world wide live with in fertility. the consequences of involuntary childlessness are usually more drastic and low and middle income countries when compared to western societies, particularly for women. this is because many families in these low income countries completely depend on their children for economic survival. unfortunately, these low and middle income countries are some of the most impacted by in fertility, as they have less options to seek out treatments like ibm, in fertility is popularly imagined to mainly affect white middle class women in the

middle class global north. but in fact, the highest rates of infertility in the world are in the global cells. health systems and population policies often reflect and perpetuate this misconception. over the last 50 years, fertility rates have dropped drastically around the world. in 1952, the average global family had 5 children. now they have less than 3. so what caused this shift? well, there are 3 main factors here at plays that contributed to this. first, you have women's empowerment, particularly in education and the workforce. second late, you have lower child mortality. and finally, there's the increased costs to raising children. research has found that these 3 factors are correlated with lower fertility correlated, not causing it, but what's causing it? while we don't know the reason for declining fertility rates, there is

a range of social and medical factors contributing to it, smoking, poor nutrition, excessive alcohol, and being overweight, are known to have the biggest impact on fertility and the chances of conception. while global trend is that couples are having children later, the chances of infertility increases with age, especially with women. around 13 percent of couples have trouble getting pregnant with the women is under 30 years old. that number increases to 22 percent when the woman is between 30 and 39 years. and this is an although the woman's fault, either the man is also responsible for infertility as well. a recent study in the journal of human reproduction update suggests that the average sperm concentration fell from an estimated $100.00. $1000000.00 per milliliter to $49000000.00 per mill leader between $973.20. this represents

a drop of over 50 percent. total sperm count fell by 62 percent during the same period. and the trend appears to be a worldwide phenomenon, as it takes into account the americas europe, asia, and africa. the data from the study shows a decline of around 2.5 percent each year in mean sperm concentration since 2000 sperm concentration. and counts are good marker of a man's fertility, as well as mortality and morbidity rates as well. in other words, men with lower sperm counts have higher chances of becoming sick or die or dying at a younger age. while this is alarming, it is preventable and there's growing evidence that plastics, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, toxic gases, air pollution, and poor lifestyle choices like smoking are all tied to abnormal sperm counts. and

far more, let's bring in again pamela hersch, co founder of baby quest. so pamela, many people don't realize how difficult it can be to get pregnant. why isn't reproduction, health knowledge more widespread? ah, it is a shame. and i think there is a stigma attached to infertility which has been in existence for a long time. people women thought that it was not feminine. whatever to be out to admit that they could not finished. one could not have children. it was an embarrassment. and one of the reasons that the social media and the internet has really actually been helpful in this is to open the conversation. there are so many support groups that are showing people, showing women and men that infertility is not something that you have to pay just by yourself that you are not alone. that there are other people who are struggling with the same thing. and just like other organizations, baby quest,

really attempts to de stigmatize the whole issue of in fertility. it's amazing when we get applicants, for example, mail from couples where it's male factor infertility. and to us, it's really important that the man be able to verbalize and say, and admit, yes, i'm part of the equation. i was not able, you know, something was wrong with me. not just, you know, my wife or whatever. and i'm in the coffee part of the issue in our not being able to can see. and i think just the idea that they requested other groups are opening the conversation and making people talk about infertility. it's making it more of a comfortable topic, not something that should, that should be swept under the carpet and do dis, an embarrassment. so i think that's a trend that has been actually very positive. yes. and what do you think is

contributing to this low fertility phenomenon? is it simply education and lifestyle, or is it something more as we talked about before, i think a lot part of it is perhaps women wanting, knowing that their options do exist and delaying child conceiving, or getting pregnant till they're. they've established our careers. and i know that there's a lot of discussion about hormones and how that affects the body. and perhaps that's been a problem with conception. i just know that thank goodness for modern science because i know there are a lot of p lot of couples in the path who just had to give up. they tried to conceive there were not the scientific innovations that exist today, and they had no options. today, there are options,

there are options for people who one who eliminate genetic disease, their people who have the issues that are totally d, there's an egg donation ashburn, to be the request, does not deal with adoption. and what are the statistics behind the growth of i v f compared to say 510 or even 20 years ago? it is increasing. and the other thing is other ways that i vs is becoming more expensive. and yet more successful is the innovations and genetic testing we're able to do to learn so much more about what can about the health of the future embryo. i know from myself, i happen to be a carrier of colon cancer. and i know now, rather than passing it on, knowing that my children, my daughters actually one didn't in here at the gene in one did not. but now if i were having a child, it's possible to test for some of the diseases like clothing,

cancer, a bracket gene, and know that you can eliminate passing the salon, which is such a blessing. and do you think that kids are almost like the new economic status symbol nowadays? because it seems like the more affluent families, they're the ones that are able to have access to fertility care. and they're the ones that are able to have and support more kids you know, one of the 1st things that i wrote in our baby quest mission is the fact that in fertility or the solution to in fertility is really an issue of class. unfortunately, i guess i realized when our family was financially able to help our daughter concede, i realized that many people are not as fortunate. and guess it is totally unfortunate that in fertility treatments are not across the board

covered by insurance and got it does lead to the fact that those who are more affluent are able to afford fertility treatments more easily. all right, thank you so much for your time. pamela, there are big losers when it comes to in fertility. this affects many families trying to have kids, but it also affects society too. as in the next 50 years, there will be less and less young people who will be able to work and support the increasing bulge of elderly folk. this would present challenges for government programs that would need to support the elderly, and there will also be less working age people to pay taxes and less spending power . but perhaps the biggest loses here are the women in fertility is also an often blamed on the women, even when it may be the man who is at fault. this is especially true for women in low and middle income countries who do not have children and are subject to

ostracism and isolation and suffer economically when their partners leave them. they also have less access to infertility care. unfortunately is the less developed countries, a low income countries that have some of the highest in fertility prevalence rates between 6.9 to 9.3 percent. i'm christy. i thanks for watching and we'll see you back here next time on the cost of everything with ah no mm. to come to the russian state will never. i've side us on the most. i'm skiing with

speed. anyone else with will ban in the european union? the kremlin media machine, the states aren't russia today, and school ortiz sport, mckibben or video agency, roughly all brand on youtube, with his pretty little green spoke with with both both the models. you need to do both nelson's news with

a over i already unemployed them by a year if you are they need that? no. do you need any that account, tanya? normally, with, with a personal number that you know, doesn't with a rec center, and i'm here to plead with you. whatever you do,

you do not watch my new show seriously. why watch something that's so different. my little opinion that you won't get anywhere else work of it please. if you have the state department, the cia weapons makers, multi $1000000000.00 corporations, choose your facts for you. go ahead. i change and whatever you do. don't watch my show stay mainstream because i'm probably going to make you uncomfortable. my show is called direct impact, but again, you probably don't want to watch it because it might just change the way you thing a. ringback because she changed painting with buffalo, new that with him is us a forced national guido, which is obviously due to my job to make up to lunch from when you do not have

a place with national anthem. com. protect a prescriptive copy from. wanted to see if the boys are new to me. if any of those names with me for a with hello in welcome to cross stock,

were all things are considered. i'm peter labelle. foreign policy is rarely frontin central american electoral politics. however, biden's nato proxy war in ukraine against russia is turning into an exception, as long as it takes and blank checks are not going down well with the g o p base. can republicans afford to continue to support biden's ward with