Hyderabad :  “Sex is not required to produce children” says India’s foremost fertility expert Dr. Firuza Parikh.  While addressing a gathering of FICCI Ladies Organization as part of the interactive session “Gift of Life”, she said, the days are not very far to see this becoming reality.  With the kind of advancements we witness in Stem Cell Research, it may soon be possible to have children without sex, she said much to the surprise of her audience.

People are not having sex today. They have many other things.  The simplest way to have a baby is to be bedroom and not boardroom, Dr. Firuza said.

India bears the brunt of Infertility. As many as 8 to 12 per cent of India’s population are infertile. This is a quite a big number.

In her 60 minutes talk she spoke about various reasons why couples fail to conceive, more so urban Indians and why her job is still relevant despite the country’s billion plus population.

In Vitro Fertilization is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) commonly referred to as IVF. It is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus. But success rate of this is just 40 per cent. And the treatment is expensive as most of the devices and medicine used are imported.  Hence, the treatment is unaffordable to common people.  It is the rural women who wear brunt of this problem. Lot of stigma is attached to them.  Fertility treatment is not a priority for the governments.  In India, IVF is not covered by insurance and the cost of subsidized fertility treatment is daunting.  So i suggest that government must bring this treatment under insurance cover.

The treatment in European Union, France and Germany is free. It is high time that government comes to the rescue of patients now, Dr. Firuza said.

Most of the working Indian women seem to think: “Work now and Conceive later”.  Women are born with a million eggs. This reserve is depleted by the age of 40.  The phenomenon, referred to as the “Biological Clock”, is a direct result of the limited egg supply with which each woman is born. The ticking of her ovarian Biological Clock, and not knowing where she is on that biological clock, is one of the biggest dilemmas every woman face, she said.

The best period for conceiving is 25 to 35 years, if for some reasons, it is not possible to conceive during this period, you need to freeze your eggs, she advised urban Indian women. If Technology is available, you can use  Dr.Firuza said.

Cryopeservation technology(a process where biological constructs like cells, tissues susceptible to damage are preserved) is rapidly taking the form of Fertility Insurance Dr. Firuza Parikh.

Couple of patients of Dr. Firuza,  Radhika Jalan, Dr Deepamani who had successful treatment and blessed with children shared their experience on the occasion

Dr. Firuza along with Dr. Rooma Sinha, a practicing Senior Constultant Gynecologist, Laproscopic and Robotic Surgeon at Apollo addressed the interactive session moderated by Dr. Savita Date Menon, a Clinical & Health Psychologist

Dr. Rooma specializes in Laproscopic Hysterctomy, Laproscopic Myomectomy with robotic assistance. She has country’s largest experience in Robotic assisted Laproscopic Myomectmy surgery and has well over 900 surgeries to her credit.

When asked why many urban India’s are suffering from infertility? Dr. Firuza Parikh said due to “Voluntary Infertility”!! And explains, many urban Indians are tired souls. They are exhausted from pressure some jobs, demanding deadlines and reach home half stomach full of food, exhausted to hit the bed fast. This is stereotype story of almost all of them.  Another big reason why infertility is becoming a big issue is late marriages.  By the time they are settled in job and ready for marriage, their biological clocks have slowed down.

It is the way we live is taking toll of the many urban India’s fertility, she said.  A woman’s fertility peaks between 27 and 34 year of age. That’s the best time to have the first baby, she added.

Infertility is the big curse to the women.  Women in particular bear the brunt of being infertile, she said.  Many women either isolate themselves to avoid being questioned and suffer in silence, she informed.

IVF has its own limitations so sometimes. Sometimes treatment doesn’t work.  Then many women feel let down.  I always tell them, ‘you are not a failure, the treatment has failed you’ , informed Dr. Firuza.

Dr. Firuza first set up the infertility center in India. Today, she is the final hope for a many childless couples.  In her career spanning nearly three decades, her team has helped deliver more than 9000 babies informed Padma Rajgopal, Chairperson of FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter in her welcome address.

No wonder why she is among the top 5 doctors in Asia.   She is the author of countless number of articles, chapters of books and well over 100 scientific publications, Padma added.   Dr. Firuz Parikh has helped endless families light up with hope.  She command over In Vitro Fertilization. Many regard her as their guiding angel—the reason for the Gift of Life which is also the theme for the today’s event, sad Padma.

Speaking further Padma added that she has many medical firsts to her credit— the first to help deliver south-east-Asia’s first micro-manipulation baby in 1994; the first laser hatching pregnancy in 1999 and Cumulus Aided Transfer (CAT) which increases pregnancy rates with IVF.  Dr. Furuza is the founder director of Reliance Life Sciences, India, who are listed by NIH as the third best institute for stem cells.