State IVF Rates Visualized

Recently I was working on a research project about IVF and decided to compile my data into a handy infographic. I also compiled state rankings of IVF use.

This map shows each state and its per capita rate of IVF use. The results were surprising!

Via: Fertility Nation

1. I didn’t expect the people of Washington DC to be the heaviest IVF users, but they were. Since so many people in DC work for the federal government, and have health insurance through the government, it makes sense. But still, surprising!

2. DCers use IVF almost twice as much as Massachusetts, the second-ranked state and one with near-universal health care. That’s a lot of IVF!

3. Eight of the top ten IVF-using states are on the eastern seaboard. Why does this region use so much IVF? Is it pure economics or is there more to the story regarding social norms, group influence, “peer pressure”, etc.?

4. The growth of IVF reflects the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth and of women’s bodies more generally. Fertility doctors can do amazing things and help a lot of people. But they also deserve our attention.

5. Since so much of the cost of IVF is paid for out of pocket, how much money are families spending for it? How this trend effect women’s financial lives? I can’t help but think that the high out-of-pocket cost of IVF hurts women’s financial health.

6. IVF use likely varies with household income, making it class distinction. People with money can get IVF and less well off folks can’t. How much of a responsibility do we have to make it more widely available? Health care reform didn’t require insurance companies to cover IVF. But should they? (I think they should.)

I’d really like to hear from you about your interpretations of the data.

What do you think?