Katelyn Walls Shelton: A different path to parenthood

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Tuesday, September 23rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

IVF has become a centerpiece of US health policy. President Trump signed an executive order after taking office, directing federal agencies to expand access and find ways to make it cheaper. On the campaign trail, he said either government or insurance companies ought to pay for IVF treatments. But WORLD Opinions Contributor Katelyn Walls Shelton says even as IVF dominates the conversation, another approach deserves more attention .

KATELYN WALLS SHELTON: When Madeleine Kearns got married in 2023, she knew she would have trouble getting pregnant. Doctors said she likely had a gynecological disorder, but could not confirm without an invasive surgery. Doctors assured her there was another way. In vitro fertilization. But as practicing Catholics, Madeline and her husband believe they cannot use IVF to conceive.

America’s 53 million Catholics and many Protestants have significant concerns about IVF. Despite this, referrals for IVF based on “unexplained infertility” have become the standard of care for many women in the United States.

When her doctors in New York City couldn’t help beyond referring her for IVF, Madeleine discovered a practice in Missouri that specializes in Natural Procreative Technology. NaPro Technology seeks to identify and treat the underlying causes of infertility so women have a greater likelihood of conceiving naturally (and being healthier overall).

It is one of a number of approaches that falls under the umbrella of Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM), a field that has existed for more than 25 years and is growing in popularity. Its practitioners say that compared to IVF, RRM is less expensive and less invasive, and research in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Reproductive Health backs them up.

Where the average cost for RRM is in the thousands, just one cycle of IVF is in the tens of thousands. The successful birthrate is higher, and women are also more likely to conceive again naturally without additional intervention.

But while infertility is surging and birthrates are plummeting, America’s major medical associations see RRM as a threat rather than part of the solution.

In August, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine sent a letter to the National Governors Association and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy. The letter calls upon governors and Secretary Kennedy to “reject any legislative or regulatory proposals that would codify RRM.” It was signed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.

RRM is not a magical fix-all that will solve every couple’s infertility. But if there are cost-effective ways to diagnose and treat the underlying causes of infertility, why aren’t they offered as a first-line treatment in every clinic in the nation? If the associations are displeased by the lack of studies in this emerging field, why not fund more research? If IVF is more expensive, more painful, more time-consuming, and less effective, why promote it? Perhaps the answer comes down to revenue. According to Global Growth Insights, the IVF market in 2024 was valued at nearly 17 billion U.S. dollars…and it’s still growing.

RRM is not yet the standard of care for women in the United States. But it is a hopeful, innovative, and cutting-edge field of women’s health research that the major medical associations appear to be undermining. Madeleine Kearns and her baby girl are living proof that Christian couples struggling with infertility have alternative options to IVF. Hopefully more couples will have the chance to pursue it.

I’m Katelyn Walls Shelton.

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