Determinants of Infertility among Married Women Attending Dessie Referral Hospital and Dr. Misganaw Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic, Dessie, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background. Infertility is the inability to become pregnant after one year of sexual intercourse without the use of contraception. Epidemiological data suggest that 10 to 15% of couples around the world are suffering from infertility. The exact meaning of marriage is mainly fulfilled if the couple conceives and bears children. Failure of this often leads to unhappy married lives, divorces, and high levels of psychiatric morbidity. There is scarcity of data about determinants of infertility in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the determinants of infertility among married women attending Dessie Referral Hospital and Dr. Misganaw gynecology and obstetrics specialty clinic, Dessie, Ethiopia, 2019. Methods. An institution-based case-control study was conducted on 281 participants. The participants were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analyses. Variables with p<0.25 in bivariable logistic regression were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was estimated to measure the direction and strength of the association. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results. The determinants of women’s infertility were age at the first pregnancy (AOR=2.89; 95% CI: 1.105, 7.564), age at menarche (AOR=3.2; 95% CI: 1.278, 7.975), menstruation flow in days (AOR=4.17; 95% CI: 0.062, 0.929), multiple sexual partners (AOR=5.33; 95% CI: 2.124, 13.397), and history of STI (AOR=2.79; 95% CI: 1.088, 7.159). Conclusion. Age at the first pregnancy, age at menarche, multiple sexual partners, number of days of menstruation flow, and history of STI were determinants of women’s infertility. Infertility may bring about unhappy married lives, divorces, and high levels of psychiatric morbidity. Therefore, couples need to have heath education about risk factors for infertility.

Determinants of Primary Infertility Among Married Women Attending Obstetrics and Gynecology Speciality Centers at Adama Town, Oromia, Ethiopia

“…The required sample size was computed using open Epi Info version 7 by considering the assumption that the ratio of cases to controls is 1: 2, the power was 80, the confidence level was 95%, the odds ratio (OR) was 4.17, the proportion of exposed cases (P 1 ) was 91.2%, and the proportion of exposed controls (P 2 ) was 71.27%(by taking the Menstruation flow greater than three days associated with women infertility recent study in Dessie, Ethiopia [23]. The sample size became 162.…”

“…2) Primary infertility: a situation where couples married for at least one year have never achieved conception despite of having regular unprotected sexual intercourse [24]. 3) Cases were married/cohabited women aged between 15 and 49 years who failed to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more with regular unprotected sexual intercourse [23]. 4) Controls were married/cohabited women aged between 15 and 49 years who were on the first postnatal care [23].…”

“…3) Cases were married/cohabited women aged between 15 and 49 years who failed to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more with regular unprotected sexual intercourse [23]. 4) Controls were married/cohabited women aged between 15 and 49 years who were on the first postnatal care [23]. 5) Normal male sperm analysis was when all parameters were in normal range (the volume >2ml, sperm concentration 20 *10 6 spermatozoa/ml or more, total sperm count 40*10 6 spermatozoa/ml or more, morphology 30% or more with normal head, neck and tail, vitality; 75% or more live and Motility 50% with forwarding progression [25].…”

“…Data were collected using a pretested intervieweradministered structured questionnaire. adopted and modified from different kinds of literature [12,23]. Weight and height were measured using a digital weight scale and a stadiometer, respectively.…”

“…Infertility is an important global health problem, but does not receive enough attentions and political will to directly address the problems associated with infertility especially in developing countries [14]. In Ethiopia, no study has comprehensively evaluated the burden and determinant factors of infertility, even though it is well documented in developed countries [23]. Thus, because there is no exact information on primary infertility and its determinants in Adama town so far, we decided to investigate determinants of infertility among married couple's women who attend obstetrics and gynecology clinic at Adama Town because determining causes of primary infertility can offer better clues in the process of infertility treatment.…”