Original broadcast date: February 22, 2009

Although there have been recent news headlines and reports of fertility treatments resulting in octuplets in California and twins for a 60 year old Calgarian woman, statistics indicate that the preponderance of treatments for infertility are directed at women in the under-35 age group. A recently released report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed the Canadian pre-term birth rate is now 8.1 per cent, up from around 6.6 per cent in the early 1990’s – translating into almost 29,000 pre-term births.

What explains this trend and what are the health implications for but the mother and child?

• Dr. Edward Hughes, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility specialist, Medical Director, ONE Fertility, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University