Infertility in Rural Ethiopia
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Date
1999-12
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Addis Abeba Universty
Abstract
Infertili ty is a ",.:arld- wide problem affecting 8- 12 % of married couples. The
prevalence of infertility i n some areas of the s u b- Sahara region reaches as
high as 30%. Muc h of the literature on i nfertility deals with the problems of
infertility for women i n the western countries and little is known as to what
puts women in sub- Sahara Africa vulnerable to infertility and as to how
perceive t he causes of i nfertility. A cross- sectional s urvey was cond ucted
i n r ural Butajira, Ethiopia , i n t he period between t he 1 3 th of May a nd 23'"
of June , 1 999 t o determi ne the magnitude a nd potential r i sk factors of
i nfertili ty. A total of 901 women in t he age gro up 20 to 29 years were
enrol led into the study from surveil lance register.
The prevalence of primary a nd secondary i nferti l ity was 2. 9~ and 16 .1 %
respectively . Comparison was made between cases of secondary infertility and
fertile women about potential risk factors. Pregnancy wastage, age at first
marriage lenD than 16 years, STDs occ urring after the last pregnancy,
polygamous marriage, a nd low level education of t he husba nds were fo und
significa ntly associated with secondary i nfert ility . Most women with the
problem of infertility i n t he area visit t he witc h-craft , more often t han the
health institutions. It is recommended t hat public health officials must
i ncrease t he access to and strengthe n programs aiming at t he reduction of
post- partum a nd post- abortal i nfections a nd STDs . Due attention should be
given for developing and implementing protocols for evaluating and managing
infertility .
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Infertility in Rural Ethiopia