Global Health Paper: Reproductive Health and Infertility (Research Paper Sample)

Global Health Paper: Reproductive Health and Infertility
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Global Health Paper: Reproductive Health and Infertility
Reproductive health and infertility refers to the diseases, conditions and disorder s that affect the functioning of both male and female reproductive system in all the stages of life. Infertility is a painful thing that no couple could want to happen to them. Reproductive health impact is extensive as it goes beyond an individual and family, to the society and the world as a whole. It is concerned with the issues that are crucial such as health , development , population , the environment and the status of women. It is therefore an essential part of the general health and a central pillar of development (Ombelet, 2009).
Infertility is inability to make babies for both men and women. Although this is a painful condition , it is often regarded as an private or individual problem which in most cases is kept secret. It denies them a chance to candle their child and to see the fruits of their union. Infertility is a major issue for many couples that are affected by it. This problem is more pronounced in the developing countries where childlessness is a major concern compared to the developed countries. This could be because of the different socio-cultural circumstances. Infertility is a severe problem that often lead to psychological, social and economic anguish (Mcdonald,2004). Therefore , infertility interferes with the most fundamental and highly regarded human activity and is a major issue to those who desire to have children of their own.
This condition always brings out issues that are related to the well-being of the individual ,couples and the society at large. It also leads to reduced personal wellbeing and may bring about more severe consequences. Some of the consequences of infertility include anxiety ,lower life satisfaction, depression , fear, frustrations guilt , grief , reduced job performance , helplessness, dissolution, marital duress and being abandoned. It could also lead to social stigma, economic hardship, loss of social status among others. Globally, women are the most affected by the issue of infertility than their infertile male counterparts (Ombelet,2009).
The infertility difficulty for individuals and couples is varied around the globe. This however requires one to examine the understanding of infertility and the view of the importance of having children. In the western countries which are more developed ,having children is viewed as a choice after weighing the life goals properly. This is because this society believes in individualism and making personal decisions and choices about life. This implies that although unwanted childlessness due to infertility may cause distress to a western couple , it may not weigh similar with those of developing countries (Ombelet,2009). Therefore , in countries that do not have social security systems , the couple depend on their children for economic survival which means that the childless couple could be at high risks of severe economic deprivation and even have social isolation in their old age. This therefore indicates how important having children is for the couple in the third world or developing countries and the severe effect infertility has in these regions.
In the developing countries such as in Africa and India, a woman is often the locus which social, economic and political power is attained and exercised . This means that the status of a woman is usually defined by their reproductive ability or capacity. Consequently , when a womanhood is viewed in terms of motherhood , then infertility could have a significant social drawbacks which include having unstable marriages, stigmatization and domestic violence. It also means that an infertile woman may have to endure a life threatening physical and psychological violence and therefore having children is the only chance to raise her status in her community (Mcdonald,2004).
According to Ombelet, (2009) for instance in Asia and particularly India , infertility in women is life-threatening and could have to bear negative social ,cultural and emotional consequences. A study done in Andhra Pradesh in India indicates that approximately 70% of women are experiencing infertility. They usually undergo through punishment and physical violence for “failing” to produce a child. In the same report , it indicates that childless women are not allowed to hold new born relatives of participate in various cultural ceremonies. This makes the women feel isolated and ashamed for not being able to bear her husband a child.
In the third world countries having children is an important influence to the couple harmony and union. It also enhances the woman status within the extended family and the community at large. Children are highly valued in these communities for many reasons, which include social cultural and economic. This explains why childlessness often leads to distress on individual and couples. In most of these cultures , the childless couples are often blamed for it and in some instances could be assaulted by their friends and family members. The couple could also get isolated by the community being regarded as bearers of a curse (Ombelet, 2009).
The infertility is an extensive reproductive problem affecting both genders almost equally. Therefore , it is a global issue having a certain portion of every human population affected. According to World Health Organization (2012),statistics an estimated average of 10% of the women in the global reproductive age cannot get pregnant of carry pregnancy to birth. It is estimated by World Health Organization (2012), that one in every ten couples is experiencing primary or secondary infertility. This condition is prevalent in the third world or developing countries. In the sub Saharan Africa, the prevalence rates have risen to 35%. The belt of infertility which is known to have the world highest rates stretches from the central to the southern Africa (Mcdonald,2004).
However , there is not adequate data that could be access from the poor countries in Africa and Asia. Using the recent overview of the population surveys the world prevalence rate is at 9% on an average estimations having a range of between 3.5% to 16.7%. According to the world health organization(2012) , Asia countries and Latin America the infertility prevalence rates are between 8% to 12% for country population within the reproductive age. The developing countries have high prevalence rates than the developed countries. This could be as a result of country specific factors which include cultural practices ,STDs prevalence rates and political factors (Mcdonald,2004).
Nonetheless, according to world health organization, the global prevalence rates are not easy to determine with certainty due to the presence of male and female factors that complicate the estimates. This is because most of the estimations is addresses the woman ability to give or not to give birth. On the other hand, surveys on infertility cases indicates that more than half of the infertility is as a result of the female conditions. The other is caused by unidentified factors or sperm disorders (Etuk, 2009).
Infertility is as a result of array of factors which are termed as internal and external factors. Therefore, infertility could be as a result of single factor from one partner or a combination of factors. Although there are common risk factors , the causes of infertility in women may be as a result of the following internal factors; ovulation disorders which are the most common causes of infertility in women around the world (Etuk, 2009). Ovulation being the release of an egg, the woman may fail to release the eggs or does not release the egg during the cycles. These ovulation disorders are as a result of ; premature ovarian failure , this is when the ovaries stops working below the age of 40; the woman ovaries could also be functioning abnormally; when the prolactin hormone levels are high and the woman is not pregnant of breast feeding and having chronic conditions such as cancer or AIDS. The above are tubal factor infertility which are known to be high in sub Saharan African with 85% of the world infertility causes. In countries like India, pelvic infertility is the major cause of tubal infertility. The tubal infertility is mostly caused by infections with STIs/STDs (Ombelet, 2009).
This high incident rate of the tubal infertility is explained through the high rates of unprotected sex among the young aged couples or partners, unsafe abortions and postpartum pelvic infections. This is as a result of illegal abortions as most of the developing countries prohibit abortions. The incidence of postpartum infections is also high such as in sub-Sahara Africa where only 40% of births as attended by qualified professionals (Mcdonald, 2004).
Infertility in male maybe as a result of abnormal semen which is responsible for over 75% of male causes of infertility. The semen problems include ;low sperm counts, the sperm concentration is not adequate to allow fusion. Sometimes , there may lack sperm in the semen which is means its low quality , motility of the sperm could also be a cause as the sperm is ...