“Demographic rearmament”: 3.3 million French people are affected by infertility

“The birth rate decreases because infertility increases. [… ] Morals are changing, we are having children later and later, both male and female infertility has seen great progress in recent years and is causing suffering to many couples. » It was with this speech that on January 14th Emmanuel Macron launched its campaign of “ demographic rearmament “. A pronatalist discourse, on whose foundations lies a real medical reality.

Read also: Demographic rearmament: “This pronatalist discourse echoes an imagination deeply rooted in the far right”

Even though the number of births is at its lowest level since the Second World War, there are many causes if the French are having fewer and fewer children. And for good reason, according to a government-commissioned study published in February 2022, 3.3 million French people are infertile.

Many medical causes of infertility

A colossal figure that can be explained for several reasons. In women this is mainly due to so-called “female” diseases, which are still too little or even poorly managed. Like endometriosis, whose numbers are underestimated, or polycystic ovary syndrome, for which it is no longer necessary to demonstrate that medical treatment could prove sexist.

Infertility is also present among men, although it is much less represented. It should be noted a decline in sperm quality, which may be partially linked to this environmental factors.

And for good reason, in an interview given to Western France in March 2022, co-author of the study and head of the reproductive biology department of Montpellier University Hospital, Samir Hamamahhe has declared: ” We are unknowingly exposed to around a hundred molecules per day. Endocrine disruptors are responsible for the decline in our fertility. » Therefore, many specialists recommend a major prevention campaign on infertility and its causes, as reported The Parisian.

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