Hope for women with infertility

Speaking to Dr. Bilkisu Koguna of the State House Clinic, Abuja recently, she says one of the commonest causes of infertility in women is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). She puts it succinctly, “the commonest cause of infertility among women is pelvic inflammatory disease. It is the infection of the genital tract. Also, pre disposition to […]

Speaking to Dr. Bilkisu Koguna of the State House Clinic, Abuja recently, she says one of the commonest causes of infertility in women is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). She puts it succinctly, “the commonest cause of infertility among women is pelvic inflammatory disease. It is the infection of the genital tract. Also, pre disposition to sexually transmitted disease is another cause of infertility.”

Infertility problem in the woman has caused many crisis in many families. Infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after one year of attempting to become pregnant. Infertility is a common problem. Roughly 10 per cent of women who attempt to become pregnant encounter problems with infertility.

Again, aging decreases a woman’s chances of having a baby in the following ways: Her ovaries become less able to release eggs. She has a smaller number of eggs left. Her eggs are not  healthy. Age is a growing cause of fertility problems. About one-third of couples in which the woman is over 35 have fertility problems.

Dr. Koguno says when a woman is above 35 years, the chances of getting pregnant declines by 30 per cent. “If a woman is above 35 and comes with the case of infertility, we suggest Assisted Reproductive Technique like IVF. There are high conception rate but not many can afford it. Assisted Reproductive Technique is one of the greatest successes in medicine. Before now, when a woman is told she cannot conceive, it is like a death sentence, but with IVF and others, some women can conceive,” Koguna explains.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a group of different methods used to help infertile couples. The ART works by removing eggs from a woman’s body. The eggs are then mixed with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman’s body.

Success rates vary and depend on many factors. Experts say some things that affect the success rate of ART include: age of the partners, reason for infertility, type of ART, if the egg is fresh or frozen and if the embryo is fresh or frozen.

According to reports, the average percentage of ART cycles that lead to a live birth are 39 per cent in women under the age of 35 , 30 per cent in women aged 35-37, 21 per cent in women aged 37-40 ,11 per cent in women aged 41-42.

The ART is expensive and time-consuming, but it has helped many couples to have children that otherwise would not have been conceived. The most common complication of the ART is multiple foetuses. However, this is a problem that can be prevented or minimized in several different ways.

Common methods of the ART include: In vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF means fertilization outside of the body. IVF is the most effective ART. It is often used when a woman’s Fallopian tubes are blocked or when a man produces too few sperm. Doctors treat the woman with a drug that causes the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once mature, the eggs are removed from the woman. They are put in a dish in the lab along with the man’s sperm for fertilization. After 3 to 5 days, healthy embryos are implanted in the woman’s uterus.

Another method is Zygote intra-fallopian transfer (ZIFT) or Tubal Embryo Transfer is similar to IVF. Fertilization occurs in the laboratory. Then the very young embryo is transferred to the Fallopian tube instead of the uterus.

Gamate Intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) involves transferring eggs and sperm into the woman’s Fallopian tube. So fertilization occurs in the woman’s body. Few practices offer GIFT as an option.

Intracytoplamic sperm injection ICSI is often used for couples in which there are serious problems with the sperm. Sometimes it is also used for older couples or for those with failed IVF attempts. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected into a mature egg. Then the embryo is transferred to the uterus or Fallopian tube.

ART procedures sometimes involve the use of donor eggs (eggs from another woman), donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos. Donor eggs are sometimes used for women who cannot produce eggs.

Agnes and her husband have these options but they cannot afford the cost so they keep praying to God to give them a child through the natural means of conception.