Photo Credits: INFERTILITY
PANAJI: Blame it on late marriages, early sexual intercourse or termination of first pregnancy, the fact that haunts many couples in Goa is the rising cases of childlessness, which seems to have seen an alarming rise since the 1970s.
Says leading expert from Goa on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) Dr Kedar Phadte, "compared to the 1970s, the rate of infertility among couples in the state has increased to 30 percent."
According to Dr Phadte, who created Goa's first test tube baby using in-vitro fertilization in 2002, said the issue of infertility among couples is 30 percent, a sharp rise as compared to 5-10 percent during the 1970s.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing conference on Current Practices and Recent Advances in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) (CUPART), Dr Phadte said “In the 1970s, 5 to 10 percent of couples were infertile. Today this figure has gone up to 30 percent. The cause for this is late marriages, early sexual intercourse, termination of first pregnancy and stress.”
Statistics point to a similar trend as well. The National Family Health Survey-4 for the year 2015-16 indicates that 9.8 percent of the women in the age group of 20-24 who were married before the age of 18 were infertile, a reduction from from 11.7 percent as recorded in 2005-06 survey. The infertility in men aged between 25 and 29 and married before attaining 21 years, however, increased from 7.2 percent in 2005-06 to 10.06 percent in 2015-16.
The fertility rate is one of the lowest, at 1.7 children per woman in Goa.
Despite the increase in cases of infertility, Dr Phadte, however, said the response to the issue from couples is instant. “People are very alert about new techniques like IVF and Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and are quick in seeking medical opinion. They are also definitely interested in having a baby while facing a lot of pressure from their family,” he added.
According to him, cases in urban areas were twice as many as in rural areas. Rural areas are in a better position considering cases of early marriages and conceiving as well as better interpersonal relationships.
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CONDITIONS AFFECTING
WOMAN'S INFERTILITY
* Damage to the fallopian tubes
* Ovulatory problems
* Conditions affecting the uterus
* Fertility declines sharply after age 35
* Medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, and thyroid
* Lifestyle factors such as stress, overweight or underweight
IN MEN
* Low sperm count or quality
* Problems with the tubes carrying sperm
* Problems getting an erection, ejaculating
* Having had inflamed testes (orchitis)
* Undescended testes or twisted testicles
* Lifestyle factors, contact with chemicals or radiation
