Calcutta is on the fast track to growth, and paying the price in terms of health. Along with other hazards of a lifestyle shift, infertility is on the rise.

According to doctors, stress, pollution and late marriage are some of the major causes of couples failing to have a baby. And the leading fertility clinics of the city have found that more men suffer from reproductive problems than women.

In Calcutta, one in six couples is finding it difficult to have a child. The proportion has gone up alarmingly over the past few years. In the late 1990s, every 10th couple was facing the problem. In the first part of this decade, the proportion was one in eight.

The problem is most prevalent among working couples, held experts.

?Stress, pollution and dietary habits are some of the important factors in infertility-related problems. Since stress and pollution have increased, while dietary habits have become unhealthy, the rate of infertility has gone up,? stated fertility expert with Care IVF clinic Rajeev Agarwal. ?Moreover, people are marrying late and giving career a priority over having a child.?

The number of couples visiting the Care IVF clinic for infertility problems has gone up by more than 50 per cent in the past few years.

The number of couples visiting Institute of Reproductive Medicine for similar problems has gone up four times in the past five years.

?We used to treat about 1,000 infertile couples every year. The figure is now 4,000,? said director of the institute Baidyanath Chakraborty.

?The pattern of infertility has changed. More husbands than wives are now infertile,? observed Rohit Gutgutia, coordinator of Genome, the fertility clinic of Bhagirathi Neotia Women and Child Care Centre. ?It has been observed that the sperm quality and count has gone down due to increased stress and pollution.?

He added: ?For women patients, the majority of the problems were due to pelvic infection. But now they either suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, which in turn causes obesity, or have married late.?

Sedentary lives and a diet of junk food have also taken their toll. Obesity has increased, causing changes in hormone pattern.

?Pesticides and artificial colour in vegetables seriously affect reproductive ability. It is thought that male fertility has also been affected by consumption of poultry chicken,? explained Chakraborty.

Poultry chicken is often injected with oestrogen to increase its weight. The hormone has the potential to cause fertility problems in men.