Despite a drop in births

More and more babies through artificial insemination

Image of an egg being fertilized

(Bild: APA/dpa-Zentralbild/Ralf Hirschberger)

While the birth deficit in 2023 was the largest since the end of the Second World War, more and more babies are being born with the help of fertility treatments - currently more than 4,000 a year. A Styrian doctor is now calling for a crucial rule to finally be changed.

When the first Styrian baby conceived using in vitro fertilization was born in 1984, it was a sensation. Today, fertility treatment has long since become the norm: in 2023, one hundred women became mothers in this way at Graz University Hospital, and many have also had a baby after stimulation treatments or with hormonal disorders and endometriosis. In Austria in 2022 - the most recent figures are from then - over 4,000 women conceived through IVF.

"There are more and more every year," says Martina Kollmann, gynecologist and head of the fertility clinic at the university hospital. "The demand for treatment would be higher now, but there are still reservations and taboos. We see that many people still come to us too late."

Martina Kollmann

(Bild: K. Remling)

Time is and remains one of the decisive factors when it comes to the desire to have children. On average, women are around 35 years old when they seek help. The IVF fund only pays for treatments up to the 40th birthday and only 70 percent of this amount. Inseminations or other fertility treatments must always be paid for privately in Austria.

And age also plays a role for men, says Andreas Obruca, President of the Austrian IVF Society and Head of the Fertility Center in Vienna: "In two thirds of cases, the problem (also) lies with the man. Sperm production decreases with age. In general, however, this is a lifestyle and environmental problem that is promoted by smoking, stress and lack of sleep."

Artificial insemination is no longer taboo these days, but it's still not something you tell your friends about.

Andreas Obruca

Bild: ANNA STOJAN

Women go abroad for solo motherhood
A particular thorn in the side for both Martina Kollmann and Andreas Obruca is the fact that it is forbidden for single women to undergo fertility treatment. "People abroad laugh at us," says Obruca. "The image of the family in Austria corresponds to the 1980s."

The phenomenon is not rare. He receives up to ten inquiries a month from patients in this situation, says Obruca. "These women make their decision very consciously. They don't want to fulfill their wish with a one-night stand, but rather with a verified sperm donor and within a legally secure framework."

Instead, the women have to travel to Germany or Denmark, Kollmann knows, or look for help on the internet. "This should finally be regulated," the doctor from Graz also pleads.