Xtra
October . 2018
6
The Health
FRONTLINE : ( Fourth from left ) Dr Komathy Thiagarajan with trained professional nurses at the Subfertility Clinic .
Healthy Sexual Relationship Crucial for Conception
Board provides complete treatment for couples with trouble to conceive
Dr Komathy Thiagarajan .
GLOBALLY , 10 to 15 per cent of married couples face difficulty conceiving , resulting in a reality that infertility rate is exponentially prevalent .
This is attributed to more women who delay marriage to pursue higher education , getting involved in the workforce and the increased cost of living which delays child bearing .
It is rather alarming to have Malaysia , a developing country , to have decreased rates of younger generation entering the workforce due to the country witnessing its lowest fertility rate .
With the rate being at 1.9 , below the replacement rate of 2.0 , more effort is needed to increase the awareness about the importance of seeking treatment for infertility .
NATIONAL POPULATION AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT BOARD ( NPFDB )
NPFDB Subfertility Unit head Dr Komathy Thiagarajan explained that couples who suffer from infertility are separated into primary and secondary categories .
“ Couples under the primary category would mean they have not experienced pregnancy in their marriage . On the other hand , couples under the secondary category are those who had undergone pregnancy but had suffered either a miscarriage or still birth .”
She pointed out that services offered by NPFDB from 1979 have prioritised women who came under these two categories .
With three clinics situated in the country , the headquarters in the city , one in Ipoh and another in Johor Bahru , NPFDB hopes to reach out to as many couples .
“ In a year , over seven thousand couples visit the centres with over a thousand couples entering pass the doors for the first time . Statistics show that the NPFDB has treated over 32,000 couples with a recorded success rate of 5,000 pregnancies .”
TROUBLE IN SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP IS A COMMON CAUSE FOR INFERTILITY
Awareness to seek treatment and to get treated comes concurrently by knowing the cause . Komathy explained that 30 per cent of infertility cases are caused by the husband , 40 per cent women , 20 per cent comes from both , while the remaining 10 per cent is caused by external factors such as stress .
“ Common factors observed during counseling sessions would be trouble in the sexual side of things , indicating that couples are unable to engage in a healthy sexual intercourse .”