No stork needed

tauringhuang.

Jul 18th 2008
From Economist.com

Birth rates for test-tube babies


THIRTY years ago, the world's first “test-tube” baby was born in Britain to great fanfare. Since then around 3.5m test-tube babies have come into the world, and at least 200,000 more join them each year. But Britons unable to conceive naturally are among the least likely in the rich world to receive IVF treatment. In 2005, the latest year for which figures were available, IVF babies made up 1.6% of all births, a much lower rate than in many other European countries, particularly the Nordic ones. German rules against storing embryos force many couples to seek treatment abroad, whereas the unavailability of IVF from most health-care insurers keeps America's rate low.