Reports of declining fertility could be exaggerated

Research published in the journal Fertility and Sterility suggests that the overall fertility of women is increasing, possibly due to the significant decline in the incidence of gonorrhea. Based on Sweden's comprehensive Birth Register data, the researchers found that in 1983, 12.7 per cent of women were reported as sub-fertile - defined as at least one year of involuntary childlessness - compared to only 8.3 per cent in 1993. As predicted, maternal age was an important factor, but the researchers also found that women who reached their 20s in the 1950s were more likely to experience infertility than women who reached their 20s in the 1990s. Reports of declining semen quality also failed to be substantiated by the study.