Fertility rate is declining and infertility is becoming widespread in Türkiye

As the fertility rate in Türkiye decreases year by year, having children is turning into an increasingly difficult process for couples. While infertility, which affects 1 in 6 people worldwide, ranks among the significant health problems of our era, experts point out that postponing parenthood and modern living conditions threaten reproductive health.

While having children becomes more difficult as the fertility rate declines in Türkiye, infertility—defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy within a year despite regular intercourse—affects 1 in 6 people. Research projects this figure to increase by 1.5 times over the next 10 years.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şule Yıldırım Köpük, an Obstetrics, Gynecology, and IVF Specialist at VM Medical Park Hospital, stated that career-focused lives and socioeconomic concerns postpone the age of motherhood. Köpük noted that female fertility begins to decline from the early 30s, and this decrease becomes more pronounced after age 35 due to cellular deterioration in ovarian reserve and quality.

Conveying that the perception in society that men can become fathers at any age is refuted by scientific data, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şule Yıldırım Köpük noted that the male reproductive system is also affected by aging, oxidative stress, and cellular DNA damage. It was reported that postponing the age of fatherhood increases sperm DNA fragmentation, prolongs pregnancy duration, and raises the risk of miscarriage and IVF failure rates.

Experts listed obesity and overweight, smoking, tobacco and alcohol use, stress and fatigue, air pollution, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics among the main risk factors that make having children difficult.