One in 50 babies conceived with assistance

More than two per cent of babies born in Switzerland in 2009 were conceived through medically assisted reproduction, a Federal Statistics Office report has shown.

Some 6,300 couples sought fertility treatments and 10,400 cycles of treatment were initiated. Of this number, 2,250 resulted in pregnancies, with almost one in four ending in miscarriage.

The final number of children born from these pregnancies reached 1,891 from 1,628 births, 30 per cent of whom were twins. There were two sets of triplets. Some 78,000 children were born in Switzerland in 2009.

The growth in medically assisted reproduction slowed down somewhat in 2009, with an increase of five per cent on 2008, compared to increases in the order of nine to 13 per cent in previous years.

The average age of women undergoing their first treatment was 36, slightly higher than in 2008. Partners were three years older on average.

At 47 per cent, male infertility was the main reason for seeking treatment, followed by dual infertility (24 per cent) and female infertility (18 per cent). One in ten couples experienced unexplained infertility.

The Federal Statistics Office results cover in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) treatments. The figures do not include artificial insemination which involves the direct transfer of sperm into the uterus.