Story: Infertility and childlessness
Being childless is a deliberate choice for some people, but for others it is involuntary, and the cause of heartbreak. Fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilisation and donor insemination, or surrogacy and adoption can give infertile couples or individuals the opportunity to have children.
Full story by Rhonda Shaw
Main image: Dr Mary Birdsall and laboratory technician Adam Nancekivel of Fertility Associates
The Short Story
A quick, easy summary
Read the full storyInfertility
Infertile people cannot have children, perhaps because of physical conditions such as a low sperm count or a hormonal imbalance. The fertility of both women and men drops as they age. Women are most fertile between 19 and 25.
Voluntary childlessness
Some people choose not to have children. Others who would like to have children have not because of their circumstances, for example not having a partner or not feeling they have enough money. Voluntary childlessness is increasingly common.
Fertility treatments
The introduction of assisted reproductive technologies in the early 1980s meant that some infertile people were able to have children. Treatments include insemination using donor sperm and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), where eggs are fertilised in a laboratory and then transferred into a woman’s womb.
Eligibility and cost
People in New Zealand can have up to two fertility treatments paid for by the government if they meet certain criteria. They can also pay to have treatment. One cycle of IVF usually costs up to $10,000.
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is a woman carrying a baby in her womb for another couple or individual. The child may be the surrogate’s genetic child (from the father’s sperm), or could be from a fertilised egg implanted through IVF. In New Zealand surrogate mothers cannot be paid.
Regulation
The Human Assisted Reproduction Act 2004 governs fertility treatments, and new procedures have to be approved before they can be offered by fertility clinics.
