How much would you spend to have a child?
How much would you spend for the chance to have a child?
Fertility treatments are an often expensive gamble but one that a growing number of would-be parents are willing to take -- in some cases, spending as much on family building as most people drop on a cruise or a car.
A single course of in vitro fertilization costs $4,500 to $8,000, plus $2,000 to $7,000 for required medication, the Financial Post reports. Donor sperm costs $3,000 to $4,500 for six inseminations.
A portion of the fees may be covered by medical insurance at work or provincial health care plans but, for the most part, you're on your own.
One Toronto couple recently spent $13,500 for one cycle of IVF, including drug costs; but the treatment wasn't successful and they decided not to repeat it. Happily, after shelling out for six intrauterine insemination treatments at a total cost of $2,400, they're now pregnant.
Many others, of course, aren't so fortunate. For them, the struggle to have children can lead to strained relationships, depression, anxiety and very real financial hardship.
When looking at any sort of treatment, the first thing you have to do is to talk with your partner and establish limits, say Evelina Weidman Sterling and Angie Best-Boss, co-authors of Budgeting for Infertility: How to Bring Home a Baby Without Breaking the Bank.
Although difficult, don't fall into a costly 'It's going to happen the next time' mentality', they warn.
"A lot of people want to think the sky's the limit when they want a child. It's important after each cycle to think about it, and talk about it with your partner.
"We've talked to a lot of people who exhaust all their resources and are left with no baby and no financial resources. It's important to make a plan, write it down, be concrete about it, and after each cycle evaluate where you are," they suggest.
Have you struggled with infertility issues? How much do you think you've spent so far? Do you have a limit in mind?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: GT | Oct 3, 2021 3:11:07 AM
I was in that situation, as I had something as a child, which prevented me from producing sperm to produce a child. The word Adoption came up, and within a year we had a Baby boy and 18 month later another one.
If only our Government would see the liight and encourage more young couples to more children, give them more incentives for the mother to stay home, to raise them and give them credit once they have left the home, I mean like pension credits.
What do you think about that ??? Like to hear from others
Posted by: CareBear | Oct 3, 2021 9:17:50 AM
try living in Northern Ontario and having to spend money on fertility treatments.....this is a joke, there are no fertility clinics at all. We have to travel to Toronto for each treatment, the government does not help one bit on even travelling costs as this is "not an OHIP insured procedure". So in addition to the treatment costs and medication we also have to miss days of work, pay travelling expenses, hotels, etc... The Ontario government should be ashamed of itself!!!!!
Posted by: LM | Oct 3, 2021 9:39:17 AM
There are many that feel government health insurance should fully cover the costs associated with infertility treatments.
I know several couples that have gone down this road; some have had a baby after treatment, some have not, some have divorced, other marriages have remained intact even though childless. And two couples with fertility issues became pregnant without further treatment.
Infertility is not a health or life threatening affliction per se, and health care dollars need to be spent on conditions that are. I guess what I'm saying is that full government assistance for fertility treatment is not something that should be considered. However, the idea of pension credits for stay-at-home parents (regardless of how a child has come into a family) is a good one.
Posted by: dchan | Oct 3, 2021 9:54:48 AM
Having kids is a blessing, a privilege, but should not be considered a right and I don't think that getting pregnant and having a baby should be subsidized. Let our much-needed, tax-funded health care dollars go to life-saving procedures, preventive health care and education. I absolutely support tax benefits for stay-at-home parents (though not a free ride) and for healthy lifestyle stuff like getting kids into sports, etc but, like mentioned above, one could spend thousands on treatments that end up failing because the recipient is just not cut out to reproduce. There is nothing wrong with adoption or even fostering. So, your genes may not be passed along but that is such a small part of raising a child - loving them, caring for all the little (and big) booboos, teaching them the values you believe in, how to treat others, etc are the most important part of parenting in my opinion.
Posted by: Kt | Oct 3, 2021 10:31:10 AM
I am currently going through fertility treatment. I haven't spent much as of yet since we are at the beginning stage. But I hear couples spending thousands. I know that Quebec covers IVF. Why can't Ontario.
Is it worth it to get a place in Quebec just to show that I am a resident so that I can get IVF covered? I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already done it. The Ontario Gov't needs to step up and help cover at least 1-2 IVF treatments. People dip into their life savings or credit to have a child and with no help at all from the Gov't of Ontario. It's a real shame. I pray for all those who are trying to have a child and going through fertility treatments, I wish you all the best. And hopefully maybe some day IVF will be covered just like having your breast size reduced is covered by OHIP.
Crazy world we live in I tell you. Take care
Posted by: Cecile | Oct 3, 2021 11:52:14 AM
Luckily, the treatments are covered in Quebec up to 3 tries! :)
Posted by: working mom | Oct 3, 2021 12:59:37 PM
We were fortunate that we didn't require intervention to have our three children. I very much feel for those who want to have children but are unable to through conventional means. A few things to consider: our natural birth rate is declining significantly where the only way our population remains stable or grows is immigration. I'm not making a judgement on that; just noting it. Secondly, it is almost impossible to support a family on one income, so we are in a world where most families have two working parents and do not have large families anymore (even with three I get odd looks!). Thirdly, there are procedures covered that are arguably not medically necessary (sex change operations, for example) so there is a precedent for "non-essential" procedures. Is infertility a disease? Does it require medical treatment? Not sure, but I think it's a good discussion to have. Lastly, there are lots of kids in the world who need good homes, but adoption is very difficult and expensive. Should we then fund adoption procedures? We are going to have to make some tough choices - there are not enough tax dollars for everything we want funded. IMO, Quebec will no longer be able fund such generous treatments much longer, with their financial situation...