21 June, 2005 22:42 GMT
The sustainability of the population of Europe is at risk because there are too few children being born. It is a threat to the future, says a university professor.
Infertility could double in Europe over the next decade, with obesity and sex infections adding to the problem, a leading UK fertility expert has warned.
One in seven couples now has trouble conceiving naturally, but Professor Bill Ledger from Sheffield University warned this could rise to one in three, the BBC reported Monday.
Speaking at a European fertility conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sheffield said women should be offered career breaks so they could have children younger, when they are more fertile.
Women are simply not as fertile after 35, he said.
Too Few Children
He also pointed to the rise in obesity as contributing to infertility, saying many women who are overweight will not ovulate as efficiently.
The rise in sexually transmitted infections was likely to mean more teenage girls would suffer from blocked fallopian tubes, he said. Later, when these young women want to become mothers, they find they can't conceive, he added.
A potential rise in male infertility could also affect couples, Ledger said. Both the quality and quantity of sperm appeared to be in decline.
The sustainability of the population of Europe is at risk because there are too few children being born. It is a threat to the future, he said.
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