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But infertility isn’t just an American dilemma; it’s a worldwide crisis. According to the World Health Organization,³ 1 in 6 people globally are now infertile — and it’s going to get much worse, unless we do something about it.

‘Dramatic Decline’ in Fertility Will Cause Populations to Drop in Most Countries

A report published in The Lancet⁴ predicts that by 2100, the global infertility problem will be so severe that 97% of countries will be unable to sustain their populations. Published in March 2024, the featured report⁵ estimates that there will be a dramatic decline in fertility globally, with majority of countries experiencing a significant drop in fertility rates. According to an article by Euronews Health:⁶

"Researchers led by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in the US found that three-quarters of countries will not have fertility rates high enough to sustain population size by 2050.

By 2100, they project that this will be the case in 97% of countries, estimating that the global total fertility rate will drop from 2.23 births per female in her lifetime in 2021 to 1.68 in 2050 and 1.57 in 2100."

Taking into the account the margins of error, the projected fertility rates in the featured report are not far off from the United Nations projections, which state "global fertility is projected to fall from 2.3 children per woman in 2021 to 2.1 in 2050."⁷ This is based on their World Population Prospects report published in 2022.⁸

A separate commentary⁹ about the featured report, also published in The Lancet, notes, "Although projections are by their nature hypothetical, they ought to offer an avenue for scrutiny, objective comparisons with other forecasts, and improvement, and should inform actions that countries could take to influence, or not, the rate of TFR [total fertility rate] declines."

What’s Causing Fertility Rates to Decline?

Gitau Mburu, one of the authors of the commentary, reached out to Euronews Health, stating that declining fertility rates can be caused by multiple factors, including "education, contraception access, and postponing parenthood." He also says economic reasons, such as the cost of raising children and changes in the work force, may also be to blame.¹⁰

However, I believe environmental factors, such as being exposed to toxic substances that are ubiquitous in our lives today, could play a more significant role. A 2000 study¹¹ explored several environmental factors affecting fertility, including cigarette smoking, alcohol and exposure to chemicals and pesticides in the workplace. The authors state:

"Although infertility can be caused by many different factors, most infertility is caused by abnormal oocyte and/or sperm production, tubal defects, or endometriosis.

It is important to note, however, that a significant proportion of infertility is unexplained. Investigators hypothesize that environmental factors have the potential to alter male and female reproductive tissues and thus affect the ability of couples to conceive healthy offspring."

Microwaves — The Invisible Factor Damaging Your Reproductive Health

One stealth factor that can make you infertile is your exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and radiofrequency radiation from wireless technologies, like cellphones and Wi-Fi. In fact, I believe this may be the most significant reason why sperm counts are dwindling today.¹²

According to a 2023 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility,¹³ men who use their cell phones more than 20 times a day have significantly lower sperm concentrations and sperm counts than those who use their phones once a week or less.

Research by Martin Pall, Ph.D., can help explain why this occurs. Nearly a decade ago, he discovered a previously unknown mechanism of biological harm from microwave radiation. Your cell membranes contain voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) which, when activated by microwaves release about 1 million calcium ions per second.

This massive excess of intracellular calcium then stimulates the release of nitric oxide (NO) inside your cell and mitochondria, which combines with superoxide to form peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrites not only cause oxidative damage, but also create hydroxyl free radicals, which are the most destructive free radicals known to man.

Hydroxyl free radicals decimate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, their membranes and proteins, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. In a 2013 children's health expert panel on cellphone and Wi-Fi exposures,¹⁴ it was noted that "The testicular barrier, that protects sperm, is the most sensitive of tissues in the body … Besides sperm count and function, the mitochondrial DNA of sperm are damaged three times more if exposed to cellphone radiation."

Many in-vivo and in-vitro studies have also demonstrated the potential implications of EMF exposure to reproductive function. In a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine,¹⁵ researchers noted that EMFs can affect sperm motility, and the degree of damage can vary depending on the frequency, duration of exposure and strength of EMFs.

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Are Also Making You Infertile

Environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan, Ph.D., says that sperm counts in Western men have been declining for decades, as the rates in 2011 were less than half of what they were in 1973.¹⁶ She notes another key culprit for this decline — endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Swan, who authored the book "Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race," says that phthalates and bisphenols are one of the key culprits to infertility and declining sperm count rates in men. If the curve continues to decline, the median sperm count will be zero by 2045.¹⁷ Couples who want to have children will then have no choice but to seek fertility treatments.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals work by adhering to hormone receptors and directly interfere with the functioning of your steroid hormones, which are crucial for pregnancy and fetal development. As a result, these chemicals can change how many receptors are present in cells, as well as affect the creation, movement, levels and breakdown of hormones in your blood.

This is a cause for concern, considering how ubiquitous EDCs are in our everyday lives. Plastics, cosmetics, personal care products, and processed and packaged foods all contain EDCs. In an article published in Salon,¹⁸ Swan comments:

"We also see declines in testosterone in several studies around the world. We see increases in erectile dysfunction. We see increases in rates of genital abnormalities ... We see increases in testicular cancer rates."