FAMILY TRENDS: Beliefs about IVF as a personal fallback option.

The article focuses on assisted reproductive technology, which has enabled many couples to fulfill their dreams of having a family. A rough idea of the escalating demand for IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedures is provided by the number of treatment cycles that take place in various years. For Australia and New Zealand combined, treatment cycles increased by 77 per cent between 1992 and 2001. It can take many months of unsuccessful attempts to achieve conception before couples begin to wonder whether they might need to seek IVF treatment, and the decision to follow this pathway may be a protracted one. Use of IVF is thus strongly age-related. In 2002, the average age of mothers who had a child following IVF was 34.4 years more than five years older than the average age of all Australian mothers who gave birth that year. While the burgeoning demand for IVF partly results from the trend towards postponing parenthood, it is also possible that advancements in IVF provide couples with the confidence that they can afford to wait longer than they might otherwise have done before. INSET: Questions asked about IVF..