Live, Move, Have Your Being (LMB), a Ghanaian not-for-profit organization, has held the third edition of its seminar series with a public lecture on the theme: Living with Infertility.

The seminar gave participants the opportunity for a free one-on-one consultation with fertility specialists and clinical psychologists.

The event held quarterly in partnership with Mahogany Consult, a PR, Event Management, provides medical and psychological support as well godly spiritual guidance for families in Ghana dealing with fertility and pregnancy-related challenges.

Delivering the lecture on Living with Infertility, the CEO of Oh! Happy Day Foundation and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Nursing and midwifery school, Dr. Florence Naab, said infertility is a complex and sensitive subject, which invariably reflects in the attitude of people.

According to Dr. Florence Naab, infertility is when a couple have not achieved clinical pregnancy after twelve months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse, typically three to four times in a week.

The infertility cases show that 40% are male related and the other 40% are female related. The remaining 20%, she said, is either a combination of both male and female factors or unexplained.

Dr. Florence Naab explained that couples living with infertility experience either one of the two types of infertility: Primary Infertility or Secondary Infertility. In the case of primary infertility, the woman has never been pregnant despite having regular unprotected intercourse for 12 months, whereas secondary infertility is when the woman has ever been pregnant regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy.

Bio-psychosocial problem

Dr. Florence Naab stated that infertility is a bio-psychosocial health problem with biological, psychological and social factors. These factors, she said, are inter-related and suggest that in the management of infertility, all factors are addressed for better outcomes.

“Infertility is a bio-psychosocial problem which threatens the survival of many relationships and marriages. It affects about 10% of couples globally and in Ghana, the prevalence of infertility is about 12% among women and about 16% among men,” she stated.

“The Ghanaian culture has a strong influence on the experience of infertility. Society places importance on marriage, biological parenthood and the need to perpetuate the family name. This puts pressure on couples having difficulty getting pregnant as many of them fear being stigmatized by their own families and the community they live in. Dealing with infertility calls for support and empathy within families and the society at large,” she said.

Some biological factors responsible for infertility include: Low sperm count, ovarian disorders, and a blocked fallopian tube. Psychological factors include Worry/Thinking, Sleeplessness, Constant Anger, Low Self-Esteem and Fear among others. Social factors, on the other hand, include: Questions from family and friends, Gossip in the community, Pressure from society e.g. stop wearing high heels and get pregnant, and Addressing other women by the names of their children e.g. Akosua Maame.

Managing Infertility

In order to effectively treat infertility, Dr. Florence Naab said it is important for couples to undergo both medical and psychosocial counseling. “Couples should seek the help of a gynaecologist to identify the medical reasons linked to their inability to get pregnant. They should avoid moving from one gynecologist to the other. Also, I encourage couples to seek the help of a counseling psychologist to help them deal with all the psychosocial problems associated infertility,” she advised.

Free consultation

For the second session of the programme, participants were given the opportunity to have one-on-one interaction with fertility specialists and clinical psychologists to start a healing process. Fertility specialists and psychologists included Dr. Henaku-Larbi and Dr. Joseph Homia from Medifem Multi-specialist Hospital and Fertility Centre, as well as Miss Kathy Adzadi and Mrs. Owiredua Kwofie, both clinical psychologists.

Founder of Live, Move, Have Your Being and Senior Consultant at Mahogany Consult, Mrs. Baaba Cofie, said the event was meant to connect couples with the right support and solution, as well as provide them useful information on how to prevent, manage, and treat infertility. “The subject of infertility must be of concern to all. As an organization, it’s our motivation to reach out to couples going through fertility challenges to experience professional medical and psychosocial support to guide them find solutions and closure,” she stated.

Mrs. Baaba Cofie is also the Author of “In the womb of time”, a true story, which highlights the journey of pain and frustrations couples go through to make babies.