Fertility
Baby recession grips Perth as births drop to lowest level in two decades
Perth’s birth rate is the lowest it’s been since 2006, and it has not seen such a sharp fall in births since the contraceptive pill was introduced in the 1970s.
- by Sarah Brookes
Latest
Sydney’s ‘baby recession’: Where births have plunged most
This map reveals the suburbs with Sydney’s lowest fertility rates.
- by Matt Wade
What’s behind the Ozempic baby boom?
If the buzz is to be believed, women now have access to a medication that can not only help shed weight but can also calm fertility panic.
- by Miranda Levy
Opinion
Pregnancy
‘This is your fault’: The doctor’s words that left me with PTSD
It’s only now – 24 years later – that I am able to discuss it, and I still cry. Birth trauma is still vastly overlooked, but its impacts can last a lifetime.
- by Beth Knights
IVF at a fraction of the cost: Perth clinic disrupts infertility market
The Baruahs know how torturous infertility treatment can be, having spent seven years enduring it. But when they finally held their son, “everything changed.”
- by Claire Ottaviano
Babynomics: Is starting a family good for you, or just for the nation?
Having children can be a joy, but they don’t come cheap. They are also important to the economy.
- by Rachel Clun and Shane Wright
Opinion
Parenting
I’ve fathered five children in NSW. If I lived in Victoria, I’d probably have none
The state government’s donor recruitment drive may have good intentions, but without a review of family limits the idea of donating sperm feels too risky.
- by Gary Nunn
Exclusive
Population
Coalition rules out baby bonus as births continue to slip
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, a father of four, says the nation’s falling fertility rate is a growing issue for all economic policymakers.
- by Shane Wright
Exclusive
Healthcare
The unusual plan to reverse the long-running sperm and egg drought
In a bid to help hundreds of patients wanting to start a family, the state government has launched a campaign to encourage Victorians to donate their sperm and eggs.
- by Henrietta Cook
Opinion
Parenting
We should stop funding IVF and pay under-25s to have children
When egg freezing, with all its associated costs and uncertain outcomes, looks more attractive than just getting down to it, we are in the grip of crazy collective thinking.
- by Ramona Koval
Croissants and egg freezing: What a consultant on $130,000 spends in a week
On Money Diaries this week, we meet a diarist with severe endometriosis and adenomyosis who spends $9796 on fertility treatments and finishes four books.