Scientists are very sure of the fact that infertility will become a bigger problem in the future but finding the culprit may not be so easy. The fact is, 15% of couples today who try to conceive a child are already affected by infertility problems. In certain countries, as much as 6% of the children conceived are helped along by assisted reproductive means.
The reason this is so difficult to identify has to do with the fact that fertility is determined by many factor such as biological, social and behavioral. These cannot always be determined by simply examining a patient.
Even if certain environmental factors were able to be identified, infertility will still be very likely to increase because of the introduction of assisted conception into our society. This allows for the identifiable factors to be passed on hereditarily. Sub-fertile couples can go on to have as many children as fertile couples and this is more likely to be the case as we advance.
Philosophically speaking, this also means that natural selection is no longer operating in the same fashion as it used to. Infertility may not be a determinant in a ‘survival of the fittest’ philosophy anymore. Genetic factors linked to infertility will become more prevalent in the species placing a greater dependence upon science as a means of maintaining our population. It won’t be enough to be ‘fit’ anymore. It will now be time to get ‘scientifically fit’.