When Marissa Alexander met her best friend in Grade 3, little did she know she she would one day marry him.
The 26-year-old and her husband, Ryan Alexander, got married in 2020 and have been trying to have a baby ever since.
“Our dreams would come true. We want more than anything to have a child,” Marissa said.
In 2023, they tried in vitro fertilization (IVF). Although Marissa is young and doesn’t have any known health problems, the treatment was unsuccessful.
“It was pretty hard, and it kind of came out of nowhere,” Ryan said.
But they weren’t ready to give up yet.
In the process of applying for funding, they learned that a second round of IVF would cost thousands of dollars more. The couple estimates the first round cost up to $15,000.
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The province does offer one-time 50 per cent reimbursements of IVF or intrauterine insemination treatments (IUI) up to $5,000. However, the couple still has $6,000 in debt from their first treatment.
“We have to choose between living our life, basically, and going in debt to try to have one child,” Marissa said.
But new provincial funding might change that.
In the 2025-2026 New Brunswick budget, the province announced over $1.9 million to fund one round of IVF treatment per household.
“It means more hope for us because we might have a baby. That might not be possible for us. We don’t know,” Marissa said.
“Even just having that kind of opportunity and the chance to possibly make this a reality is just kind of life-changing,” her husband added.
In an email, a spokesperson for New Brunswick’s health department said the funding announcement is an expansion of the previous $5,000 funding. It will cover 100 per cent of IVF or IUI procedures up to $10,000, beginning April 1.
The executive director of Fertility Matters Canada, Carolynn Dubé, is praising the funding, especially in light of declining provincial birth rates.
“The economic health of our province is highly correlated with our fertility rate; we’ve got lots of data backing that up,” she said.
“In places where fertility care is covered, babies born through IVF can make up five to 10 per cent of the total number of babies born in a population, versus places where fertility care isn’t covered. Babies born through IVF constitute one to two per cent of the total number of babies born,” she added.
And the problem is widespread. She says one in six Canadians need access to fertility and family-building care, and when IVF averages $20,000 per treatment, that can get costly.
“The number one barrier to people in Canada accessing fertility care is the cost of treatment,” she said.
The Alexanders have a message for other families struggling with infertility.
“We’re right there with them, cheering them on honestly,” Marissa said.
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