IVF Offers Hope in China, Even to the Government

China has a complicated relationship with fertility. For three decades, officials restricted families to one child — sometimes through brutal measures.

Today, infertility affects 18 percent of couples in China, compared with a global average of around 15 percent. Researchers cite several factors, including the fact that Chinese couples often wait until later to have children and the common use of abortions, which experts have said could affect fertility.

Su Yue, 32, never had a strong desire to have a baby, but her husband and in-laws did. After the couple tried for several years, her mother-in-law gave them money to start I.V.F. treatment. They were successful last year.

Ms. Su loves her son, whom she refers to affectionately as “Cookie.” But she said giving birth had cost her her job. She had been breastfeeding while working remotely, but then her boss required her to come into the office. As a career-minded millennial, she laments having to resign.

“The most stressful thing about I.V.F. is that I lost my job,” Ms. Su said.

Since her transplant, which was successful, in late November, Ms. Guo has been taking it easy back at home in Zhangjiakou. The hot pot restaurant that she and her husband own has been busy during the current Lunar New Year period. She still helps out, and she has found time to knit two mattress quilts for the baby.

Mostly, though, she tries to rest in bed, Ms. Guo said. “I feel sick and dizzy all the time.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/business/china-birthrate-ivf.html