A growing number of married couples who live apart for economic reasons are turning to artificial insemination, gynecologists say.
"It's a matter of logistics," said Yeat Sew-khee (葉紹錤), a gynecologist at Cathay General Hospital.
The odds are against couples who try to conceive while the husband is working and spending most of his time in a different country, she said.
"A woman only ovulates once a month and that egg only survives for less than 24 hours," Yeat said. "Meanwhile, her husband might only come home from China on certain important holidays, perhaps just a few times a year."
Couples generally turn to a gynecologist when they fail to conceive even after four or five years of trying, she said.
Yeat said that she saw four or five couples a month inquiring about artificial insemination. Of those, one or two couples go through with the procedure.
"There has been an increase in demand," she said.
If the couple is not actually infertile, there is no need for in vitro fertilization. Instead, the husband's sperm is frozen and kept at storage facilities at the hospital. The woman's ovulation cycle is observed through ultrasound and blood tests so that she can be impregnated with her husband's sperm at the right time.
The success rate for each insemination procedure is around 20 percent, which is comparable to the likelihood of conceiving through having sex while the woman is ovulating, Yeat said.
Li Mao-sheng (李茂盛), former director of the Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that he had observed the same trends in his clinic.
"I used to see two or three couples a month, but now it is up to five or six. Most of them are in their mid-30s. These couples are not infertile, but they simply can't arrange to be in the same place at the right time," Li said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS