KITCHENER -- Canadian Infertility Awareness Week is highlighting the struggles of people who have difficulty conceiving a child.
One in six Canadians experiences infertility, according to the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.
Anusha Neelakantan is now a mother of a four-year-old but she had trouble trying to get pregnant. She had four miscarriages and tried intrauterine insemination (IUI) four times before it worked the fifth time.
“I could not believe that we were actually pregnant,” said Neelakantan.
She said she was starting to lose hope after trying so many times and told her husband they might have to consider getting a pet instead.
“Often times it can be quite depressing,” she said.
She said she was grateful to go to Karma Fertility Clinic in Waterloo.
The clinic said they have been busier in the past year. They now see about 140 to 160 patients per week but pre-pandemic that number was about 100.
“I’ve heard the term ‘coronials’ before that’s causing a bit of a baby boom,” said Kayla Perkel, the laboratory director at Karma Fertility.
According to staff, those under the age of 35 should get help from a fertility clinic if a couple has been trying for a year without conceiving. For those older than 35 they should seek help if it has been six months.
According to the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, the top two reasons why people seek treatment is due to what's considered the male factor or unexplained infertility.
Those are the same reasons why Alexie Reilly has been having trouble getting pregnant.
“There isn’t really a reason as to why the treatments are working for me. And a male factor fertility. My husband has Azoopermia,” said Reilly.
Reilly and her husband have tried more than a handful of different procedure, a mix of IUIs and in vitro fertilization (IVF).
OHIP covers one round of IVF per lifetime for women under the age of 43 and one round of fertility preservation.
IUIs are also covered with no age limit.
Karma Fertility staff said it's never too early to ask your family doctor to check how fertile you and your partner are if you're looking to conceive.
