Best Provinces For Fertility Treatment #CIAW #IVF4ON

Canadian Infertility Awareness Week is upon us again and infertility advocates have accomplished a great deal this year. Funding is in place and many Ontario infertility patients are now accessing their funded round of IVF treatment. That’s a huge success for Ontario patients and advocates and frankly it saves money and helps to create healthier families. Over 50 different clinics across the province now offer government funded fertility treatments.We are already seeing the first pregnancies as a result of the Ontario IVF (in vitro fertilization) funding program.

Conceivable Dreams patient group thought it would be worthwhile this year to take a look at what other provinces are doing and not doing to support infertility patients. In Canada 1 in 6 people of reproductive age struggle with infertility. Are clinics accessible in each province? Are there any clinics in certain provinces? Is fertility treatment accessible or affordable in each province? That remains an important question for each province.

Fertility Treatment by Province

Consider this a bit of a state of the country infographic.

1. Ontario comes out on top for a few reasons. Ontario has now got one fully funded cycle of IVF for patients that need IVF. Ontario also is the province with the largest number of fertility clinics. Why does that matter? Because if you are a patient living in London, Ontario then you have a couple of clinics to choose from right in your city whereas if you live in Alberta there are far fewer options and you are likely to have to travel to get any fertility treatment necessary. People in rural and urban areas both have access to treatment in this province.
2. Quebec still has some coverage. They were once the envy of the country and sadly that’s no longer the case. Now Ontario has overtaken that position. While Quebec was once the leader in Canada in its support of infertile patients, it dropped behind Ontario since it stopped fully funding IVF in late 2015. However, the province still offers some financial support through its continued fertility drug coverage, and newly-implemented sliding scale tax credit for expenses related to IVF, which is based on income level.
3. Alberta and BC have no coverage despite advocates and patient groups striving for support there for many years.
4. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland both have no clinics and no coverage. That’s the worst case scenario for fertility treatment and infertility patients in those provinces. Hence why they came in dead last in this infographic.
5. Manitoba has a tax credit that is accessible and New Brunswick has an IVF grant up to $5,000.

[tweetthis]Ontario also is the province with the largest number of fertility clinics. #IVF4ON[/tweetthis]

Canadian Infertility Awareness Week was started in 2007 by the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada to raise awareness and hope for Canadians struggling with infertility. This year, the initiative runs from May 12-20, 2016.

[tweetthis]Ontario is the best province to live in if you need fertility treatment #IVF4ON #CIAW[/tweetthis]

In 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available, a total of 27,356 cycles was reported at Canada’s 32 IVF centres. These cycles resulted in 5971 live births. (CFAS web site)

People can visit conceivabledreams.org for more information or contact their local fertility clinic.
I am community manager for Conceivable Dreams and as such I am compensated. My opinion is all my own and it is also 100 % truthful. I often write about fertility and infertility matters.