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Levels and trends in infertility and childlessness

Sara Riese, ICF Macro

Infertility is an often neglected but important area of reproductive health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The inability to have children when they are desired can have negative impacts on mental health and social well-being for both women and men, though these negative impacts disproportionately affect women. There is wide variation in estimates of infertility, likely due to differences in definition and data collection approaches. Previous assessments of global trends in infertility have shown little change in estimates over time but observed declines in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, these estimates are nearly 10 years old and updates are required to better understand current levels. We applied demographically based definitions of primary and secondary infertility and adjusted for the different data collection approaches for the key measures included in the definitions used in different DHS surveys over time. The results show stable levels of primary and secondary infertility over the study period, with some specific countries being outliers, the reasons for which should be explored.

Keywords: Cross-country comparative analyses, Demographic and social surveys, Fertility and childbirth, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

See paper.

  Presented in Session 89. Health and Fertility