By Katherine McKnight
As a physician in the field of reproductive medicine, I treat patients with infertility—a condition that impacts approximately one in five couples in the U.S. These are couples who dream of having a child of their own, but have been unable to achieve a pregnancy or to carry a pregnancy to term for various reasons. They include male infertility or low sperm count, women who have achieved pregnancy multiple times but experienced recurrent miscarriages, and women over the age of 35. While we have a variety of treatments we offer in our fertility practice, approximately 70 percent of couples receive in vitro fertilization (IVF), and for them, IVF is the only way they can achieve a successful pregnancy.
That is why I’m concerned with all the circulating false narratives about IVF. I hear it from patients and see it online. This disinformation is being spread by special-interest groups who are working to influence legislation to restrict IVF, and ultimately restricting couples’ access to necessary treatment. This in turn makes their journey to creating a family more medically difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
