Assisted Reproductive Technology Use in the United States: A Demographic Assessment

Katherine Tierney , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Yong Cai, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The percentage of births attributed to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) remains small, but has been steadily growing in the United States. Despite examples of differential access, use, and outcomes across racial/ethnic groups, knowledge about the social and demographic differentiation in ART is still limited. Prior estimates are based on sample data or are crude in their measurement. By contrast, the present project uses population data to estimate how ART has contributed to U.S. total fertility between 2010 and 2017 across age, race/ethnic, educational and marital status groups. Further, we use multivariate analyses to estimate the risk of an ART birth. Our results show that ART births are concentrated and more likely among women in their thirties, White women, married women, and women with more education. In addition to documenting trends with population data, our findings imply that current estimates obscure differences and may downplay unmet demand for ART services.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2