CCRM Fertility’s 2021 State of Fertility Survey Finds Nearly 40% of San Francisco Bay Area Residents Struggle with Infertility

About half of San Franciscans surveyed wish they had addressed their personal fertility needs at an earlier age

SAN FRANCISCO — March 9, 2021 — CCRM Fertility, a global pioneer in fertility science, research and treatment, announced the results of its 2021 State of Fertility survey in San Francisco. Of the 1,000 local adults surveyed, ages 25-44, nearly 40% said they are currently or have struggled with infertility when trying to conceive. About half (46%) of those surveyed wish they would have started addressing their personal fertility needs at an earlier age.

“Bay Area millennials are focusing on their careers, getting married later, and wanting to wait until they feel financially secure before starting to build a family,” said CCRM Fertility San Francisco Co-Founder and Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Salli Tazuke. “More couples are waiting until their mid-30s to start trying to have kids. However, most women don’t realize that by the time they are 35 years old they have only a 15% chance of getting pregnant each month and that drops to less than a 5% chance by age 40.”

Additional factors, such as COVID-19, have also impacted family planning in 2021. About 13% of individuals surveyed are fearful of having a baby/being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Unfortunately, our biological clocks keep ticking regardless of the reasons why we’ve decided to delay family-building,” Dr. Tazuke explains.

Fertility patient Hailey Manning started trying to conceive naturally with her husband in 2016 at the age of 36. After years of trying various fertility treatments, including two failed embryo transfers, she and her husband decided to switch fertility clinics. After undergoing an IVF cycle at CCRM Fertility San Francisco, they now have a beautiful baby girl. Hailey is passionate about encouraging young women to educate themselves on their fertility health and invest in fertility preservation.

“My advice for younger women is to run, don’t walk, to get your eggs retrieved. In the Bay Area, people are more focused on their careers; you don’t get married at 23 and you don’t have a baby at 25. And while you’re busy building your career, your eggs are jumping off cliffs. People should address their fertility needs earlier; I wish we would have.”

Additional findings from CCRM Fertility’s State of Fertility survey in San Francisco include:

• 35% of survey respondents have used fertility treatments to conceive, and over half (57%) would consider fertility treatments to have a baby
• Of the 38% of respondents that have experienced infertility, 29% said it was an issue of male fertility, 16% said female and 7% said their infertility was attributed to the man and woman need a space before the 16%
• Over a third of respondents (37%) feel “very informed” about their fertility health
• 72% of respondents feel comfortable talking about fertility
• Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents have not sought fertility treatment because they are afraid of being diagnosed as infertile

“If you’re not quite ready to have a baby right now you may want to consider a fertility assessment. Depending on the results you can decide if fertility preservation, such as egg, embryo or sperm freezing, is right for you,” said Dr. Tazuke.

If you’re under 35 and you’ve been trying to conceive for more than 12 months, or if you’re over 35 and you’ve been trying to conceive for more than 6 months, CCRM Fertility recommends seeking advice from a fertility specialist.

For more information about CCRM Fertility San Francisco or to inquire about fertility treatment options, please visit https://www.ccrmivf.com/sanfrancisco/.

About CCRM Fertility

Founded by Dr. William Schoolcraft in 1987, CCRM (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine) Fertility is the nation’s leader in fertility care and research. CCRM Fertility specializes in the most advanced fertility treatments, with deep expertise in in vitro fertilization (IVF), fertility assessment, fertility preservation, genetic testing, third party reproduction and egg donation. Unlike many other fertility clinics that outsource their specialists and testing needs, CCRM Fertility leverages its own data, as well as a dedicated team of in-house reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and geneticists in order to deliver industry-leading outcomes. CCRM Fertility operates 11 fertility centers (including 28 offices) throughout North America, serving prospective parents in major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, Northern Virginia, Minneapolis, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, and Toronto. For more information, visit ccrmivf.com.