The issue of infertility has occupied the minds of many young Iranian couples these days.
While the World Health Organization reports show the global infertility rate is about 10 to 15%, Iranian health officials say 20% of Iranian couples are infertile. Infertility is associated with several mental and social outcomes. About 60% of the infertile couples suffer from moderate to severe anxiety disorders, whereas about 25% of them are severely depressed.
According to reports while about 2 to 2.5 millions of the total 13.5-million Iranian couples are infertile only 150 to 200 thousands seek necessary treatments, although Iran is one of a leading countries in infertility treatment, with a couple of advanced treatment centers like Royan institute. Considering the low success rate in infertility treatments, couples are encouraged to repeat treatment until achieving acceptable results. In view of Irans young population and the countrys need for work force the government is preparing to launch new initiatives to convince Iranian couples to have more children, after terminating population control policies.