Page 21 - Aspire April -2023 Vol 8 / Issue 2

VIETNAM
Bucking the global trend with more babies and a surge in patients turning to infertility treatment
By Dr Khanh Linh Nguyen
Ho Chi Minh Society for Reproductive Medicine
In contrast to many countries in the world, Vietnamese couples still enjoy having many children and, as a result, the fertility rate in this country seems very stable.
According to Vietnam General Statistics Office, the fertility rate – the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime – moved from 2.05 children in 2018 to 2.12 in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many people into a jobless and unstable future, and this could be expected to contribute partly to a lower fertility rate. However, the population of Vietnam has steadily increased year by year and is expected to reach 100 million people this year.
The labour force accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the population, or about 46 million people.
In the first three months of this year, infertility doctors witnessed a huge wave of patients presenting in this Year of the Cat, which is believed to be a very good year for a child to be born.
The number of patients seeking assisted reproduction across the country is estimated to be a two to three times increase from the the past five years. This has presented considerable challenges for IVF centres and staff in the commitment to maintain the best outcomes for patients.
Khanh Linh Nguyen
Meanwhile, the 4th Clinical Embryology Conference was held on 26 March 2023 with a focus on effective laboratory management making it particularly timely and relevant in this peak season for assisted reproduction.
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