Chennai, Sep 15 (IANS) Faced with a steady decline in registered births and a rapidly ageing population, the Tamil Nadu government has initiated measures to integrate infertility care into its family welfare programme, becoming the first state in the country to take such a step.
The family welfare programme, which has traditionally focused on birth control, contraceptive services and pregnancy spacing, will now help couples seeking to “complete their family”.
Infertility treatment and preconception counselling will be extended to government district headquarters hospitals, including those in districts without government medical colleges.
Official data showed that 8.02 lakh births were registered in Tamil Nadu in 2025, compared with 9.39 lakh in 2020. The state’s total fertility rate has fallen to 1.3, substantially below the conventional population replacement level of 2.1.
At the same time, the proportion of elderly people in the state is steadily increasing. People aged 60 and above presently account for about 16 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s population.
The figure is projected to approach 20 per cent by 2036, meaning that nearly one in every five residents will be a senior citizen.
The Health and Family Welfare Department’s policy note, recently tabled in the Assembly, warned that a prolonged decline in fertility, coupled with population ageing, could eventually result in a shrinking workforce and an absolute fall in the state’s population. However, officials clarified that the policy would not compel couples to have children or encourage larger families. The government would continue to offer contraceptive choices, spacing services and safe abortion care.
A recent departmental audit found that nearly 25 to 30 per cent of maternal deaths occurred during higher-order births. Therefore, the government does not intend to encourage couples who already have children to opt for additional births. Instead, the expanded programme will focus on couples experiencing difficulties in conceiving.
Under the proposed initiative, intrauterine insemination treatment will be made available in government hospitals, including in districts whch do not have government medical college hospitals. Preconception counselling will also be provided through primary health centres and health and wellness centres. Village health nurses will play a crucial role in identifying and counselling childless couples. Alongside their routine responsibilities, they will guide couples requiring further examination or treatment to the nearest tertiary healthcare facility offering specialised infertility services.
–IANS
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