Adão Francisco Lucas1, Dibaba B Gemechu2, Stefan S Du Plessis3,4, Yapo G Aboua5. 1. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek, 9000, Namibia. 2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek, 9000, Namibia. 3. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 4. Division of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa. 5. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek, 9000, Namibia. yaboua@nust.na.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Infertility has been defined as a couple's failure to conceive after regular and unprotected coitus for 1 year or six months, depending on the age of the female counterpart. Although infertility can result from both the male and/or the female, often the female partner faces pressure since it is believed in some African cultures that a woman without children is like a tree without leaves. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of successful pregnancy outcomes among infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment at the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic. METHODS: This was a prospective and descriptive cross-sectional case reference study encompassing 178 infertile women visiting the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic for ART treatment. RESULTS: The vast majority of the participants (81.5%) were married women. From the 178 infertile women, 96 (53.9%) suffered from primary and 82 (46.1%) from secondary infertility. The predominant cause of complications for infertility among the women studied was defective ovulation (28.7%) and the most common ART treatment administered was IVF/ICSI (52.2%). Only a third (33.1%) of the women who received ART treatment eventually fell pregnant. CONCLUSION: The outcome of this study may not give a clear indication of the prevalence of infertility among women in the entire Namibian nation due to the costs involved with ART treatment offered mainly at privately owned hospitals and/or clinics, thereby resulting in those who cannot afford treatment to be left out despite being infertile.
PURPOSE: Infertility has been defined as a couple's failure to conceive after regular and unprotected coitus for 1 year or six months, depending on the age of the female counterpart. Although infertility can result from both the male and/or the female, often the female partner faces pressure since it is believed in some African cultures that a woman without children is like a tree without leaves. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of successful pregnancy outcomes among infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment at the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic. METHODS: This was a prospective and descriptive cross-sectional case reference study encompassing 178 infertile women visiting the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic for ART treatment. RESULTS: The vast majority of the participants (81.5%) were married women. From the 178 infertile women, 96 (53.9%) suffered from primary and 82 (46.1%) from secondary infertility. The predominant cause of complications for infertility among the women studied was defective ovulation (28.7%) and the most common ART treatment administered was IVF/ICSI (52.2%). Only a third (33.1%) of the women who received ART treatment eventually fell pregnant. CONCLUSION: The outcome of this study may not give a clear indication of the prevalence of infertility among women in the entire Namibian nation due to the costs involved with ART treatment offered mainly at privately owned hospitals and/or clinics, thereby resulting in those who cannot afford treatment to be left out despite being infertile.
Authors: Maya N Mascarenhas; Seth R Flaxman; Ties Boerma; Sheryl Vanderpoel; Gretchen A Stevens Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2012-12-18 Impact factor: 11.069