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.”