IVF treatment at government hospitals is the need of the hour: Dr Purohit

Bhopal/New Delhi: Though various aspects of healthcare are provided by government hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, they still do not have fertility centers thus leaving an increasing chunk of the population diagnosed with infertility to depend on private hospitals.

In-Vitro- Fertilisation (IVF) treatment at government hospitals is the need of the hour, says Dr Naresh Purohit, Advisor-National Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme .

Sharing his concern on the access to sexual and reproductive health services for women, acclaimed reproductive health expert Dr Purohit told NewsOnRadar.com that the skylines of many cities in the state are dotted with advertisements of private infertility treatment centers, a multi-Crore rupees industry which fleeces childless couples; but the government seems to be in no hurry to establish the facility in any of its government medical college hospitals.

“The state does not have a single government-run center offering in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.” he said.

He averred that infertility treatment industry is worth Rs 1,830 crore now in the State, which is expected to go up to Rs 5,000 crore by 2025.

Renowned physician, Dr. Purohit pointed that in private hospitals, these treatments are expensive and poor couples cannot afford them as they cost over a lakh of rupees to complete just one course of treatment.
He stated that couples who do not conceive a child naturally despite having regular sex without contraceptives for over a year are considered infertile. For those above the age of 35, this period is reduced to around six months. For such couples, IVF is a ray of hope.

However, as the cost is in lakhs, couples who are financially weak are unable to explore this option.

“Research studies have shown that infertility is rising among men and women of all economic classes.

To make the IVF accessible for everyone it is essential to start the treatment in government hospitals” he averred

He revealed that research studies show that 15 out of 100 couples suffer from infertility due to multiple reasons like increased stress, alcoholism, drugs, weight gain and late marriages.

“Psychological stress, coupled with environmental and industrial pollution is also leading to infertility.” he added

“Clinical studies on male fertility have shown that stress is associated with reduced paternity and abnormal semen parameters, which also contributes to infertility” he said
He urged the M.P. State government to start IVF treatment at government hospitals soon. The situation is not different in most of the States of the India, he advises an urgent advisory from the Central Health Ministry to all states.

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– *Dr Naresh Purohit-MD, DNB, DIM, D. Psych, MHA, MRCP, is an Epidemiologist, Advisor to Govt. of India on National Communicable Diseases Control Program, Madhya Pradesh and several other health organizations.