While welcoming Christmas Day babies last year at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh raised concern about the country’s declining fertility rate.
According to the data provided by Deyalsingh, ten years ago there were 18,261 live births which translated to a fertility rate of 1.8 for that year.
The figure, he explained dipped significantly in 2023 with 12,768, a fertility rate of 1.2. Between January and November 2024 live births went down further to 9,794 which reflects a fertility rate of 0.9.
When asked the reason for the decline, Deyalsingh said he only had the facts but no solution and hoped the statistics would start a national discussion.
Last Sunday (January 26) the Trinidad and Tobago IVF and Fertility Centre answered the minister’s call as they hosted the Reproductive Health and Fertility Medical Conference 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.
Fertility expert and Medical Doctor at the Centre, Catherine Minto-Bain said the minister is “absolutely correct” and the fertility rate has been dropping for decades, similar to what is taking place in many countries around the world.
She explained that in the 1960s women in T&T had an average of five children, but this began dropping in the 1970’s and by 1990 women were having an average of 2.5 children.
“By the end of 1990’s, we were no longer having enough babies in T&T to replace our population. Today T&T is like over half of the world, with the number of births well below population replacement levels and women having an average of 1.7 children,” she said.
Dr Minto-Bain gave reasons for the decline, which she stated all comes down to two reasons—the increase in medical infertility and social choices.
According to fertility expert, data between 2010-2023 show male infertility as the number one reason for the falling birth rate in T&T. She said sperm are the canary in the coal mine and everything that poisons the planet also poisons human health.
“Sperm are a good indicator of overall male health,” she said.
The fertility expert explained that things like poor diet, chemicals in the food and drink, alcohol, industrial fats in processed food, poor sleep, air pollution, toxic chemicals in smoking and vaping, recreational drugs, obesity, diabetes, inflammation, plastic in foods, personal products, microplastics and hormones in food and water, pesticides on fruit and vegetables and lead and heavy metals in the supplements all affect the health of the sperm.
Keynote speaker at the event and co-ordinator of the Global Initiative on Male Reproductive Health Professor Christopher Barratt confirmed that diet plays a major role in male infertility.
But the presenter of “Spermaggedon! Are Humans Going Extinct?” said studies show that the environment is also to blame.
“Some regions in China related to the particular matter in the air and really quite substantial correlations between that and male infertility,” he stated.
Dr Minto-Bain wants men to know that a normal sperm test does not mean they have good fertility and there are more advanced tests. She said the good news is that there are also a range of advanced treatments available in T&T for infertility, especially for the different forms of male infertility.
“Of course, women have infertility too. In fact, many people point fingers at the women as the main cause, which is the biggest incorrect myth in T&T. I think this is just a lack of general knowledge, people simply do not know how important the man’s role is in having healthy children,” she said.
She added, the number of women choosing not to have children has doubled from roughly 30 per cent to 60 per cent and those who choose to be mothers are having their children at later ages.
“We are seeing an increasing number of young women coming to us to freeze eggs for the future. Without frozen eggs, women over 35 find it more difficult to have a baby due to the age-related infertility that starts in their mid-30s. And also, they will naturally have fewer children as women become naturally infertile around the age of 40,” she said.
