Latest news with #MavenClinic
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Joe Rogan, young men rave about these supplements. But do they reduce sperm count?
America's birth rate has been on a steady decline since 2007, and pronatalists − both in the White House and out − are determined to raise it. But an underdiscussed obstacle might be standing in the way. A growing number of men are using testosterone supplements in the hopes of enhancing their physical performance, unaware of the drug's impact on their fertility, and more public figures — from Joe Rogan to Dax Shepard — are making their use of supplements known. From 2016 to 2019, prescriptions for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT, or 'T') have increased by 20%. Dr. Masaya Jimbo, a urologist and male infertility specialist at Reproductive Medicine Associates Philadelphia, says more college students are coming into his practice seeking — or already taking — testosterone. However, research shows up to 25% of men do not have their testosterone levels checked before starting therapy, and up to a third do not meet the criteria for testosterone deficiency. Jimbo warns that the desired benefits of TRT — such as increased sex drive and enhanced fitness — do not outweigh the damage TRT can have on men's fertility. 'There's a lot of men who are out there taking testosterone thinking that it's making them more virile, but in fact, the testosterone is telling their testicles to shut off,' says Dr. Neel Shah, the Chief Medical Officer at Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women's and family health. 'Within three to six months, they can go from producing normal amounts of sperm to producing none at all.' The White House wants more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem − men What is testosterone? Risks and benefits of testosterone replacement therapy Testosterone is a hormone produced primarily in the testicles that helps maintain men's bone density, fat distribution, muscle strength and mass, facial and body hair, red blood cell production, sex drive and sperm production. Testosterone levels generally peak during adolescence and young adulthood, and begin declining by approximately 1% per year after age 30 or 40. A blood test is used to diagnose a low testosterone level, and a doctor may recommend testosterone replacement therapy in the form of injections, pill, patches or gels, for men with conditions like hypogonadism (when low testosterone levels are due to a disease rather than normal aging). Studies show that patients not meeting the diagnostic criteria for testosterone deficiency are still being prescribed testosterone therapy, often based on vague symptoms. Jimbo says that among his college-aged patients, some report getting testosterone supplements from their friends. 'There's a big community that thinks of testosterone as an important or beneficial, purely enhancing kind of treatment to do,' he says. He often sees patients that tell him, 'All my friends do it too.' The risks of TRT can include worsening sleep apnea, acne or other skin reactions, stimulating the growth of existing prostate cancer, englarging breasts, limiting sperm production and causing the testicles to shrink, and stimulating too much red blood cell production, which contributes to the increased risk of forming a blood clot. And, testosterone supplements aren't always delivering their advertised results. A 2019 study evaluated 50 'T booster' supplements for composition and product claims. 90% percent of supplements claimed to 'boost T,' 50% 'improve libido,' and 48% 'feel stronger.' However, only 24.8% of supplements had data to support these claims, and 10.1% contained active ingredients with data suggesting a negative effect on T levels. What health & wellness means for you: Sign up for USA TODAY's Keeping It Together newsletter Testosterone therapy may lower men's sperm count The pituitary gland (a part of your brain that controls hormone release) produces two hormones: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). LH tells the testicles to make testosterone, and that testosterone works with FSH to produce sperm. Testosterone supplements can have a 'quick and dramatic' impact on fertility, Jimbo says. Once a person starts taking exogenous testosterone, the pituitary gland recognizes that it no longer needs to produce it on its own, which causes the testicles to shrink over time and can halt sperm production. It typically takes 3-6 months for sperm production to resume, but individuals who have been on high-dose testosterone for longer periods will require longer to return to normal sperm production. It can take up to three years for sperm to recover, but in a small number of patients, sperm production never fully recovers. Research shows that for heterosexual couples trying to conceive, when the cause of infertility can be attributed to a known factor, it's a roughly 50-50 split between male and female factors. The male partner was found to be solely responsible in about 20% of infertility cases, and a contributing factor in another 30-40% of all cases. 'Usually when people want to start having kids, they really want to start having kids,' Shah says. 'The difference of having to wait six months or 12 months can be really meaningful.' More: Elon Musk, JD Vance and why 'pronatalism' is having a moment right now Biohacking, masculinity misperceptions can harm fertility Biohacking, which is the pursuit of accomplishing the "best possible results" from your body, even if it requires extreme measures, has exploded in the wellness industry. '2025 is just a very different era in terms of being able to push a button and get a drug in general,' Shah says. Telehealth providers have streamlined the process of testosterone therapy prescriptions (among many other medications, like GLP-1s), and expanded the market for testosterone supplements. 'I think that there's a lot of testosterone use that's not measured, and it shows up again in the fertility clinic,' Shah says. A 2025 report by Maven Clinic that surveyed over 500 men aged 25–49 found that among men currently trying to conceive, or planning to conceive in the future, over half (55%) would be motivated to make lifestyle changes if they felt confident the changes would help conceive a child. 'Anecdotally, the majority of people, once they see the line between testosterone and being able to have children, are very willing to make the changes they need to make to have a family,' Shah says.
CNBC
18-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Oura, Maven Clinic team up to bring biometric data into clinical care
Women's and family health platform Maven Clinic is partnering with smart ring maker Oura, a step forward in the integration of the increasing amount of data being collected by wearable devices and clinical care. As part of the partnership, eligible Maven members will be able to sync the data that their Oura Ring collects with the Maven platform, allowing members of the Maven care team to comb over the Oura-collected data like sleep, stress and activity to provide enhanced health guidance. Maven Clinic, a three-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company, is the largest virtual clinic for women's and family health with more than 2,000 employers and health plans using its platform. The company, which raised a $125 million funding round valuing it at $1.7 billion in October 2024, offers programs that range from fertility and family building to maternity and newborn care to menopause and midlife health. Kate Ryder, CEO and founder of Maven Clinic, said that we're in a "reinvigorated era of consumer health," a period that is being defined by the amount of data being collected via wearables and the desire of people to use those diagnostics to seek treatment and advice. Ryder said that a recent survey of Maven Clinic members found that nearly three out of four members are tracking their health regularly with some sort of device, and consumers are asking, "How do I take my health into my own hands with all these tools and areas of wellness at my fingertips to try to live a healthier life?" That shift prompted Maven's new partnership with Oura, also a three-time Disruptor 50 company, which was ranked No. 23 on the 2025 CNBC Disruptor 50 list and has been on its own path of wellness and preventive health via its eponymous Ring in recent years. While Oura's initial focus centered on tracking sleep and recovery metrics, its scope has widened significantly in recent years to broader healthcare and personal health issues. As Oura CEO Tom Hale said in a recent CNBC interview, "the vision for the future of Oura has to do with the doctor in your pocket." That includes a wide variety of metrics, features and health indicators tracked by the Oura Ring and parsed by the company's AI and analytics to offer wearers' health insights, including a variety of female-focused features around menstrual, period and pregnancy cycles. "One of our key theses is that women have been overlooked in science, and in health understudied and overlooked, but we believe that they expect the same level of personalization, transparency and immediacy from their healthcare," said Oura chief commercial officer Dorothy Kilroy. "This is what they want, and traditional healthcare hasn't really kept up with that for women and their families." Kilroy said that the partnership between the two companies aims to deliver that, offering "smart, connected personalized care that'll fit into their lives and not the other way around, which is kind of what the old healthcare systems have provided." The ultimate goal is to improve health outcomes through the utilization of the data collected by the Oura Ring, allowing for more personalized recommendations, the ability to catch issues sooner and be more proactive, and layering in expert medical care at critical points. "Tracking is the first step, but really it's not just about surfacing health data," Ryder said, noting that Maven Clinic is the first virtual care platform to turn Oura's health signals into expert care. "We really want to act on it to actually drive better outcomes." One example of how the data could be utilized would be in the case of a pregnant Maven member diagnosed with gestational diabetes. That person could work with a Maven nutritionist or support coach to help regulate their glucose levels, while using Oura's physical activity tracking and meals and glucose features to monitor their progress. Oura is increasingly working with a variety of partners in the healthcare sector to use the biometric data collected by its Rings, Kilroy said, allowing it to be "paired with clinical care and creating that kind of seamless experience where the members can both understand what's going on in their body but they can actually use that to get expert care all in one place." Ryder said that she sees the convergence of this sort of biometric tracking and the clinical side as leading towards much more effective preventative care, leading to "much better outcomes," especially among high-risk patients where this sort of reporting and engagement can result in significant improvements in health. Maven Clinic will start to integrate the Oura data into its platform starting later this summer, with a goal of having it reach all members who want to opt in by the winter. Maven members will also receive exclusive pricing on the purchase of an Oura Ring. "We have to shift our healthcare system into prevention and invest more in wellness and wellbeing," Ryder said. "There's a lot of exciting stuff that this partnership can do to take the step forward, be innovative and show the outcomes on the back end."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Some workers are job hopping for fertility benefits. Employers are trying to keep up.
Laura Muller started looking for a new job in 2023 to give her dream of starting a family a fighting chance. A 38-year-old licensed veterinary technician, Muller loved the field but was willing to take just about any job that would cover in vitro fertilization, or IVF, treatment, be it Starbucks or Tractor Supply. In job interviews, she said, one of the first questions she'd ask was: 'Tell me more about your fertility coverage.' She landed a job as an emergency veterinary nurse, and after four rounds of intrauterine insemination − a fertility treatment that places prepared sperm in a uterus − and four egg retrievals, Muller's first embryo transfer was a success. She's expecting a boy in June. 'I'm just thankful we were able to get here,' said Muller, who lives in Philadelphia. 'I feel like it was a Herculean effort, but it was definitely worth it.' As baby boomers retire and a new generation of workers takes center stage in the workforce, employers are reconsidering what it means to care for their employees' well-being. Fertility care coverage and child care benefits are among the most expensive for companies. But they're also some of the most sought-after perks for millennials, who represent the largest segment of the U.S. workforce, and employers are noticing. Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women's and family health, recently surveyed more than 1,500 human resources leaders and nearly 4,000 full-time employees and found 69% of employees have taken, considered or might take a new job for better reproductive and family benefits. The same percentage of employers plan to increase their family health benefits vendors in the next two to three years. Gallagher, an insurance and employee benefits consulting company, produced similar findings in its own report, when 63% of the nearly 700 employees surveyed said they would change jobs for better benefits. Among millennials, nearly 40% identify as parents and prioritize family-forming benefits, child care and education support. Overall employee interest in pregnancy and fertility resources jumped from 5% in 2022 to 13% in 2024. It's not just women who need access to fertility care, Maven Clinic CEO Kate Ryder said. Her company started providing at-home sperm analysis kits last year, and she said they've been hugely popular. The definition of family, and how adults are starting ones of their own, is evolving, said Kathleen Schulz, Gallagher's global innovation leader for organizational well-being. There are single parents, blended families, adopted children and surrogates who need care, too. 'The way that we think about family now, it's different than the way that we thought about it 20 years ago,' Schulz said. 'And employers kind of need to lean into that in a more inclusive way. The struggle is that the way that an employer may want to define family may be a little bit different than the regulatory bodies that are defining families." More: 'You never catch up.' How caring for their family widens the pay gap for women Barbara Collura, CEO and president of the infertility advocacy organization Resolve, said the organization 'absolutely' sees people switching companies, moving states or taking on a second job to access fertility benefits. 'If you are struggling to build your family, and you have been told that the only option for you to have a chance at having children is a medical treatment that is going to be, out of pocket, $15,000 to $25,000 for one cycle ... that's a tall order,' Collura said. Mercer, another consulting firm, also found more employers are covering IVF and other family benefits like paid parental leave. Mercer's survey of 630 U.S. organizations found 62% now offer bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, and 58% offer bereavement leave for miscarriage. Taylor Capuano, who co-founded Cakes Body, a bra alternative brand, with her sister, said offering women- and family-focused benefits is a top priority for their company, which has grown in the past year from 10 to 30 employees. A video of the sisters announcing full child care coverage for employees with kids too young to go to school went viral in May. Women who responded to the video were emotional, Capuano said. It proved to her that most women don't feel seen or heard by their employers. She knows she didn't when she worked in corporate America. 'I just remember looking at my expenses, being like: 'Wait a minute. I don't think I'm going to be able to make sense of staying in the workforce.' Because I was pretty much breaking even on working versus paying for my child care," she said. More: 'No mute button for a toddler': How thousands of parents juggle remote work and parenting 'It was always a goal of mine to be able to create an environment where I, personally, could afford to live and be a mom. But I never really expected to have employees.' Capuano said she and her sister are still trying to figure out best practices for creating conducive working environments for parents. They encourage flexible work hours so parents can schedule work around family responsibilities. They also offer four months of full-paid parental leave, which is a rarity. And Cakes Body's new child care stipend policy covers up to $3,000 a month, which is enough to support two kids' child care in most states. Cakes Body doesn't have fertility care coverage yet, Capuano said, but she and her sister 'want to do more' for women and parents. Fertility treatment coverage is becoming increasingly common: IVF was covered by 47% of large employers with at least 500 employees in 2024, up two percentage points from the year before, according to a Mercer survey of more than 2,000 employers. Of the largest companies – those with 20,000 or more employees – 70% cover IVF. 'Some of it has to do with attraction and retention,' said Lindsay Bower, senior principal in Mercer's health and benefits team. 'Especially in industries that are really competing for talent.' The most common reason why employers don't provide fertility care coverage, according to Gallagher's report, is cost. Maven Clinic's report also found the financial burden of fertility care has reached a breaking point. Employers who already provide fertility care coverage are concerned about rising costs, and 28% of employees pursuing fertility treatment incurred debt to cover the cost. Christina Parker understands the eye-popping cost of IVF all too well. After an endocervical cancer diagnosis in 2021 resulted in the loss of her fallopian tubes, Parker knew the more affordable intrauterine insemination would no longer be an option; she and her wife would have to pay up for IVF so they could carry a child. Parker worried out-of-pocket costs would be out of her price range. The fertility treatment – in which eggs are collected from an ovary, fertilized by sperm in a lab and then transferred to a uterus – can run more than $10,000 a cycle, and some patients require multiple cycles for a successful birth. After some digging, she learned pharmacy chain Walgreens offers fertility coverage, and there was a location 10 minutes from her home in Asheville, North Carolina, that was hiring. The pharmacy technician role paid $6 less an hour than her hotel job and Parker had no industry experience, but she decided to give it a shot. It worked. Parker was hired and started IVF in 2022, and after two unsuccessful rounds, she gave birth to a son in May 2023. Parker, 29, estimates she and her wife spent about $7,000 out of pocket for three IVF cycles, including preimplantation genetic testing. An estimated $75,000 was covered by insurance. Now, she said, she looks to see if potential employers have fertility benefits or maternity care before applying. 'If you don't, chances are I'm not going to.' Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach Madeline at memitchell@ and @maddiemitch_ on X. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fertility, child care benefits top of mind for millennial workers Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Cision Canada
05-06-2025
- Health
- Cision Canada
Bridging the Gap: Manulife Partners with Maven Clinic to Bring Women's and Family Health Services to Members Français
New partnership will help provide support and navigation for women, spanning fertility and family building, maternity and newborn care, parenting and pediatrics, and menopause and midlife TORONTO, June 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Manulife Canada is excited to announce it has partnered with Maven Clinic ®, the world's largest virtual clinic for women's and family health 1. This partnership will provide eligible Manulife Group Benefits plan members with unlimited access to Maven's award-winning digital programs for tailored support 2. Maven specializes in supporting women and families through some of their most important stages of life, including fertility, family building and planning; maternity and newborn care; parenting and pediatrics; and menopause and midlife. The need to prioritize women's health has never been more apparent. Research indicates narrowing gaps in women's health care could contribute as much as $1 trillion per year to the global economy by 2040 3. Globally, women spend 25 per cent more time in poor health compared to men, with nearly half of this health burden occurring during their prime working years—often limiting their ability to earn an income and support themselves and their families 4. In Canada, unmanaged menopause symptoms during critical career years (ages 40 to 55) cost the Canadian economy $3.5 billion annually and cause 1 in 10 women to leave the workforce 5. "Together with Maven, Manulife is not just responding to gaps in women's and family health—we're redefining what comprehensive support looks like during key life transitions like family planning and menopause," says Jennifer Foubert, Head of Product, Manulife Group Benefits. "We're proud to be the first insurance company in Canada to offer these important programs through Maven that will help our members access personalized and holistic support and navigation when they feel they need it most, wherever they are on their journey." Beginning this fall, Manulife Group Benefits plan members, whose employers enroll in Maven, will have 24/7 virtual access to Maven's platform, connecting them to a global network of providers across more than 30 specialties who speak more than 35 languages. While this is not an alternative for visiting in-person health care providers, with more than one in five Canadians without access to a primary care physician 6, Maven can help women and families navigate the Canadian healthcare system through its digital platform and help members find in-person care. Maven's diverse network of providers helps ensure that non-medical support is accessible and inclusive for individuals from all backgrounds. Plan members and their eligible dependants will benefit from unlimited access to virtual care, delivering high-quality, personalized support tailored to their unique health needs 2. "We are excited to partner with Manulife to help women and families receive comprehensive, personalized care," said Stephanie Glenn, Chief Commercial Officer at Maven Clinic. "As an organization, we set out to address the fragmented experiences women and families often face in health care through offering a holistic approach with tailored support, leading to better health outcomes and smoother journeys through life's critical phases. By expanding our global footprint with partners like Manulife, Maven is thrilled to deliver personalized guidance and assistance to Manulife members across Canada." Maven's offerings are built around four key pillars that most impact women's and family health: Fertility & Family Building: helping individuals and couples navigate their family-building journeys, including support for preconception and trying to conceive, fertility treatment like IVF and IUI, adoption, and surrogacy. Maternity & Newborn Care: extensive support during pregnancy, postpartum, and return to work, including access to virtual, non-medical consultation with participating OB-GYNs, doulas, lactation consultants, career coaches, and mental health providers. Maven also provides compassionate support for individuals experiencing loss. Parenting & Pediatrics: this program provides resources and consultations for parenting challenges and pediatric care, so families have access to the support they may need as their children grow. Menopause & Midlife Health: provides support through every phase of the menopause journey for women and midlife health support for men, including hormonal changes, mental health, sexual health, and overall well-being. Maven is a global leader in women's and family health, serving members across more than 175 countries. Beginning this fall, eligible Group Benefits Members and their eligible dependants will be able to access Maven through the Manulife Mobile app or plan member site. For more information, visit About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping our customers make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice and insurance for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2024, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 109,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 36 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' in Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit About Maven Maven is the world's largest virtual clinic for women and families on a mission to make healthcare work for all of us. Maven's award-winning digital programs provide clinical, emotional, and financial support all in one platform, spanning fertility & family building, maternity & newborn care, parenting & pediatrics, and menopause & midlife. More than 2,000 employers and health plans trust Maven's end-to-end platform to improve clinical outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and provide equity in benefits programs. Recognized for innovation and industry leadership, Maven has been named to the Time 100 Most Influential Companies, CNBC Disruptor 50, Fast Company Most Innovative Companies, and FORTUNE Best Places to Work. Founded in 2014 by CEO Kate Ryder, Maven has raised more than $425 million in funding from top healthcare and technology investors including General Catalyst, Sequoia, Dragoneer Investment Group, Oak HC/FT, StepStone Group, Icon Ventures, and Lux Capital. To learn more about Maven, visit us at Maven is a registered trademark of Maven Clinic Co. All rights reserved. Maven Media Contact: Katy Geguchadze [email protected] _______________________ 1 Maven Clinic, Meet Maven, 2024 2 Available only to Group Benefits Members whose employers sign up to offer this support. 3 McKinsey Health Institute, 2024 4 McKinsey Health Institute, 2024 5 Menopause Foundation of Canada 6 OurCare. Primary Care Needs, 2024 SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
The White House wants women to have more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem — men.
The White House wants women to have more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem — men. Show Caption Hide Caption Has the pronatalism movement gone mainstream? The Trump administration is considering a baby bonus. Is it enough to encourage people to have more kids? America's birth rate has been on a steady decline since 2007, and pronatalists − both in and outside the White House − are determined to raise it. But how? President Donald Trump and his administration have reportedly begun wading through various proposals aimed at reversing America's declining birthrate. Per the New York Times, some ideas that have been floated include scholarships for married people and parents, a one-time $5,000 cash "baby bonus" for mothers and government-funded education on menstruation and ovulation. One pronatalist activist also proposed that mothers of six or more receive a 'National Medal of Motherhood." And calls for women to bear more children aren't just inside the White House – they've infiltrated the cultural zeitgeist. Trad wives, or 'homestead creators,' are making waves on social media for romanticizing the nuclear family unit that Trump and Vice President JD Vance have lauded. But when partners struggle to conceive, the burden is rarely distributed evenly between men and women. Still, fertility experts say we're missing a key component of the conversation – male infertility. Research shows that for heterosexual couples trying to conceive, when the cause of infertility can be attributed to a known factor, it's a roughly 50-50 split between male and female factors. The male partner was found to be solely responsible in about 20% of infertility cases, and a contributing factor in another 30-40% of all cases. Male and female infertility factors often coexist, yet a high number of men do not undergo testing before their female partner begins IVF, according to Dr. Neel Shah, the Chief Medical Officer at Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women's and family health. 'Our healthcare system generally seems better designed for men than for women, but men are more reluctant to engage with it in the first place,' he says. 'It's relatively common for women to go through entire fertility journeys, and the men to never be tested. But when you don't treat the couple as a unit, the burden is disproportionately on one person.' 1 in 6 people are affected by infertility, but women often carry the burden According to a 2025 report released by Maven Clinic that surveyed 1,000 women struggling with infertility, 65% said they felt that the burden of fertility lay almost entirely with them, not with their partner. 'In the design of the healthcare system, but even more broadly, socially, we have unfortunately put the entire burden on women,' Shah says. 'They're the ones who get tested first. They bear the most emotionally. But the science is very clear, infertility is just as likely to be caused by male factors as female ones.' Characterizing fertility solely as a woman's issue is part of a 'broader cultural misunderstanding,' limits the accessibility of fertility care and contributes to the feelings of shame some women experience when struggling with infertility. Trump wants a baby boom. Is his 'pronatalism' agenda missing the point? Men are more reluctant to do fertility testing Women have biological markers, such as their menstrual cycle, that serve as a checkpoint for reproductive health. Men, on the other hand, don't have an obvious, visual indicator for sperm health. To test male infertility, doctors can look at the concentration of sperm and motility, meaning how active the sperm are. This usually involves going to a clinic and producing a semen sample, which Shah says many men are reluctant to do. 'Men like having things to do and appreciate being able to support their partners,' he says. 'But in many cases ... they're not being engaged in a way that makes them comfortable.' In some cases when male infertility is a contributing or sole factor, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is still necessary. However, it should be done using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which involves injecting a single, healthy sperm into an egg. 'It's the world's tiniest surgery,' Shah says. Some factors contributing to male infertility are lifestyle-based; things like wearing tight underwear and sitting in hot tubs actually can decrease sperm count. Other factors, such as taking testosterone, can work as a contraceptive, just like estrogen in women. 'Men think they're taking testosterone to make themselves more virile, but it's doing the opposite,' Shah explains. Women want parental leave, greater financial incentives to raise the birth rate In a video with over 330,000 views, a pair of parents expressed their shock at some of the White House's suggestions for raising the birth rate. "Obviously no women were involved in this council that's coming up with these ideas," a man says in the video, as his wife reads him some of the proposals and they react to each one. She laments, 'Not like, free health care or, I don't know, paid maternity leave." Jennifer Sciubba, a demographer and the author of the book "8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World," previously told USA TODAY the reasons for America's declining birthrate are vast and complex. For starters, more people feel they simply can't afford to have families amid economic uncertainty and rising housing prices. Couples seeking IVF are often met with high prices, leading some to partake in "medical tourism" for cheaper fertility care abroad. Sciubba added that more couples are also delaying marriage, shortening their window to conceive naturally with their spouse. More people also don't see children as necessary to a fulfilling life. Shah advises against framing fertility in moral and political terms. "It sends the message that women's bodies are public battlegrounds," he cautions. "It could end up overriding some of the real medical struggles (and) emotional distress that people have when they're trying to build their trying to build their family." Contributing: Charles Trepany, Jonathan Limehouse
