Wider Reach, Affordable Fertility Treatment Key to Empower Women

Hon’ble Governor Dr. (Smt.) Soundararajan to take the appeal of doctors to cover fertility treatment under Ayushman Bharat to Hon’ble PM Modi and Hon’ble Union Health Minister

She appealed to the medical, pharma, and social sectors to make dedicated efforts to democratise fertility treatment options so that anyone who is in need can benefit from it.
According to the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, 1 in 6 couples in India find it difficult to plan their family.
Infertility is a trauma that affects families and disrupts their equation with the society at large, making it difficult for them to become productive members of society.

India

healthysoch

New Delhi, July 25, 2021:

Noting that childless couples in India tend to face stigma and there is a need to democratise fertility treatments, Dr. (Smt.) Tamilisai Soundararajan, Hon’ble Governor of Telangana & Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Puducherry, agreed to take the appeal of doctors to cover these options in the government of India’s flagship Ayushman Bharat programme. Speaking as the Chief Guest at the inauguration of the 2^nd India IVF Summit by Integrated Health & Wellbeing (IHW) Council today, Dr. Soundararajan urged the medical, pharma, and social sector to come together and work in this direction.

“It is concerning to know that around 15% of the couples in our country are finding it difficult to plan the family due to infertility. Family and friends suggest various ways to have a baby, but most of them are unscientific and can be harmful to health. Many studies show fertility rate in India has dropped and reached the replacement rate of 2.1. As a woman and a governor, health and wellbeing of women has always been important considerations in all my decisions. I believe that a wider reach of fertility treatment by popularising it and making it affordable is a key intervention for empowering women. I request my colleagues and compatriots in the medical, pharma, and social sector to come together and make dedicated efforts to democratise fertility treatment options so that anyone who is in need can benefit from it. I will also appeal to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Union Health Minister to bring infertility under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana,” says Dr. (Smt.) Tamilisai Soundararajan, Hon’ble Governor of Telangana & Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Puducherry, herself a gynaecologist.

“India is the second largest populated country and according to the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, 1 in 6 couples are finding it difficult to plan their family. Infertility is a trauma that affects families and disrupts their equation with the society at large, making it difficult for them to become productive members of society. It is appreciable that our doctors have contributed a lot to get rid of this problem.

The World Health Organization also identifies it as a disease as infertility is taking an unimaginable toll on physical, mental, and social health of millions of couples and individuals. Infertility is a known cause of mental and marital distress across the country and the subcontinent and can damage physical, social and mental health of women,” says Kamal Narayan, CEO, Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council.

Noting the role of basic nutrition in improving fertility status, Dr Firuza Parikh, Director, Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, says, “Studies have shown that women with low anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) will not suffer if we wait for about 6 months during the IVF. At a macrocosmic level, it is not just infertility we have to treat lack of education of the women, making sure the women and the children and the family have vitamins, supplements, sunshine – these are the components that will take us to our goal; not everyone who is infertile or is trying for a baby needs IVF.

We need to look for simpler interventions such as vitamin D, B12, folic acid – they may work. For diseases like thalassemia, we need to do carrier screening, something which is not available elsewhere, so a basic IVF can be done and this will cut down risk and time. We need to concentrate on what is making IVF so expensive and how to make it affordable.

“Over the decades, there was a misconception regarding IVF treatment which is now less but it is still there in the society. We need to remove the stigma from society that IVF babies are different and unusual from normal babies. We have groups talking about cancer survivors and transplants, but there are no such group that talks about IVF. Awareness should be created in the society that babies born through IVF are an integral part of our society,” says Dr Manish Banker, Medical Director, Nova IVF Fertility.

“As a part of its CSR initiative, BSV has supported free IVF treatments of 50 needy couples in association with ISAR (Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction). BSV has also supported free screening camps by IVF centres across India and has facilitated a dialogue between the medical fraternity, government and insurance agencies to de-stigmatize infertility and support aspiring couples’ journeys towards the joy of parenthood. BSV has also rolled out financial support to its employees in need of IVF or ART treatment since IVF is not directly covered by any insurance company in India. We need to look for support from science and are into R&D so that the cost can be improved – there is a need to provide affordable treatment,” says Sanjiv Navangul, Managing Director & CEO, Bharat Serums & Vaccines Limited.