Women over 50 seeking assisted reproduction grew by 45% in 2022

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) The number of Taiwanese women over the age of 50 seeking assisted reproduction treatment grew by 45 percent in 2022, according to a report released Tuesday by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA).

The report showed that a total of 58,476 married women received assisted reproduction that year, marking an increase of 8,824 from 2021. Of the women, 36.1 percent were aged 35-39, 33.3 percent 40-44 and 19.9 percent 30-34.

While there were only 355 women aged over 50, that represented a 45 percent increase from the previous year, the report said.

In 1998, the median age for married women receiving assisted reproduction treatment was 32, a number that climbed to 38 in 2022, according to the report.

In terms of the number of people receiving treatment, it has increased from about 6,500 in 2001 to 58,476 in 2022, an eightfold growth.

A total of 11,549 babies were born in 2022 due to assisted reproduction, 1,775 more than the previous year, the report showed.

Pregnancy rates and live birth rates are clearly correlated with the women receiving treatment, with 2022 statistics showing pregnancy rates with fresh and frozen embryos at 38.6 percent and 56.3 percent in women under the age of 35.

However, in women over the age of 40, pregnancy rates with fresh and frozen embryos dropped to 13.5 percent and 27.7 percent, the report said.

Tsai Way-yi (蔡維誼), deputy division director of HPA's Maternal and Child Health Division, told CNA on Thursday that subsidies for assisted reproduction were expanded in July 2021, increasing the maximum age to 45, which may partly explain the significant increase in people receiving such treatment.

The number in 2022 was 52.7 percent higher than in 2020, he said.

Seeing an increase of assisted reproduction treatment in married women between ages 40 and 44, he also suggested women should seize the optimal time for pregnancy and childbirth, as age influences fertility as well as the health of the mother and child.