73% of American Women Think it is Important to Conceive a Child

LONDON, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid to gauge American women's attitudes towards fertility has found that 73% think it is important to conceive a child in their life, however not all women realise that this desire may not be as straight forward as they hope.

The survey was commissioned by Barbados Fertility Centre (BFC), as it continues to see a rise in US patients needing assisted reproduction. Anna Hosford, Clinic Director said, "There is a marked decrease in a woman's fertility from the age of 35 and as women leave starting a family later as they pursue their career, we are seeing more and more enquiries from US patients."

As assisted reproduction is not usually covered by medical insurance, US women are realising quite quickly they if they need help, then this will be self funded and that maternal age has a huge impact on successful outcome.

One such US couple who did travel to Barbados for their treatment are Caitlin & Tyler Vale from Junction City, Oregon. Caitlin was aged just 24 when the couple decided to start a family, they believed time was on their side and that by tracking her ovulation they would be announcing their news to family and friends in no time, but two years passed and no pregnancy occurred.

After seeing a specialist in Oregon, they learned that Tyler was suffering from a rare condition called Retrograde Ejaculation, where the sperm is released in to the bladder. They were advised that they would need In Vitro fertilization (IVF). But this young couple were astounded when they learned this would cost them anything between $12,000 - $40,000 for a package of three attempts.

Caitlin & Tyler were desperate to start a family but knew these prices were out of their reach so they took to the internet and started researching clinics outside of the US. They found BFC, and learned they could get the treatment, a relaxing vacation in the Caribbean including flights and hotel all for under $8,000.

Caitlin said, "I spent about a year talking to the medical team at BFC before we finally made our decision. It was the best decision we ever made, our beautiful son Liam was born on Nov 10, 2011."

BFC is celebrating 10 years of assisted reproduction and has helped hundreds of couples realize their dream of having children and pride themselves on offering cutting edge technology to achieve a successful outcome, with the US national average for success at only 42%, the centre are delighted to report success rates of 72% using blastocyst, where the embryos are left to culture for 5 days as opposed to the usual 2 days before transfer.

Being ahead of the game is the motto at BFC, and they are the first JCI accredited health care facility to launch The Fertility App for iPhone & iPad, which is available in the App store. The app is designed for every woman who has made the life changing decision to start a family with helpful tips on pre conception supplements, ovulation, fertility treatment, frequently asked questions and you can even contact the medical team directly from the app.

Anna said, "The app is to help all women regardless of whether they will need assisted reproduction or not. We wanted to launch an educational tool so that couples don't waste years trying, if you don't conceive naturally within 12 months then you must seek medical advice. Our app covers everything to do with conception both naturally and for those going through treatment it makes the whole procedure a lot less confusing with a handy guide to help couples through all the medication and procedures."

SOURCE Barbados Fertility Centre