By Laudia Sawer
Tema, May 28, GNA – Dr Edem Hiadzi, an Obstetrician Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist, has said that blaming women for childlessness is misplaced as both men and women can equally contribute to infertility in a relationship.
Dr Hiadzi, who is also the President of the Fertility Society of Ghana (FERSOG), explained that even though in Ghanaian society women received the blame for being unable to bear children, the facts were that 40 per cent of the causes of infertility could be equally attributed to the man or the woman.
He was speaking on the topic “Infertility prevention: the link between infertility and infectious diseases, male infertility” at a community awareness programme for health journalists organised by the Merck Foundation in partnership with First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo and in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
He stated that 15 per cent of the causes could be from both partners, while five per cent were attributable to unexpected causes.
He encouraged both men and women to seek treatment together, indicating that starting together made it easier than leaving one’s partner alone to go about seeking care.
Dr Hiadzi, who is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre, defined infertility as having unprotected sex between two and three times a week for one year without being pregnant as a woman or impregnating a woman in the case of a man.
He said in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 20 to 30 per cent of people were infertile, indicating that some men, even though they could have erections and ejaculate, were infertile as they did not produce any sperm that could fertilise the woman’s eggs.
“In many hospitals, when a couple has infertility challenges, it is the woman who seems to say that she wants to get pregnant because though the man may be desiring the same results, he will not visit the hospital to check what the issue is,” he said.
Dr Hiadzi said infertility could be described as primary when a man or woman had never given birth, and secondary, when one might have gotten pregnant in the past but is unable to do so now.
On the causes of infertility, he said poor nutrition, untreated Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), unsafe abortions, infections from female genital mutilation, smoking, fibroids, blockage, and others were some of the causes contributing to childlessness.
He said untreated infections accounted for a chunk of infertility cases in women, stating that people should visit the hospital to have proper treatment for STIs such as HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea instead of relying on recommendations from people, as that could jeopardise their ability to give birth in the future.
He stressed that “aggressive treatment of STIs to prevent possible difficulties was what was needed.
However, prolonged labour could also lead to secondary infertility, he said, expressing worry that in developing countries, not all women have access to good care and facilities during delivery, leading to such difficulties.
Dr Hiadzi explained that such prolonged labour could lead to pelvic infections after delivery, which may lead to blockage of the tubes, adding that several studies had shown that when women were checked for infectious organisms, those who were infertile had a higher level of such infections compared to the fertile ones.
“Other causes are unsafe abortions leading to blockages of the tubes and further cited what was known as Asherman’s syndrome, where a woman had the inside wall of the womb plastered to each other at different levels, being scrapped when too many abortions had been done.
He encouraged childless couples to seek help, quit smoking, exercise moderately, eat balanced diets, maintain a healthy weight, and limit their caffeine intake.
GNA