Prof. Adebayo Adeniyi, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, has warned that improperly treated infections can hinder a woman’s ability to conceive.
Adeniyi, who is the Medical Director of Olives Fertility Centre, Ado Ekiti, identified infections as the commonest cause of tube blockage, which in turn prevents a woman from becoming pregnant.
The medical expert, who said that poorly treated pelvic infections had far-reaching consequences, including infertility, advised seeking medical attention at hospitals rather than self-medication.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday, while speaking on the latest delivery of a 60-year-old woman, who conceived at the centre through In Vitro Fertilisation.
Adeniyi said, “IVF is used as the last resort when a woman has tried several times and is unable to conceive. We say a woman is unable to achieve pregnancy on her own if she has tried to for two years with her husband and they have sexual intercourse regularly. For some of them, we can identify the problem and correct it. For some of them, no matter what we do, they cannot”.
On causes of delay for some women to get pregnant and how it can be prevented, the medical expert said, “The commonest cause is the blockage of the tubes, which is usually due to previous infections and poorly treated infections in a woman. Those infections commonly referred to as toilet disease are actually pelvic infections usually contracted from unprotected sexual intercourse.
“Such infections may affect and block the tubes, which are very tiny in calibre. When a woman has such an infection, which is really common, the first symptom may be abnormal vaginal discharge.
“The prevention we usually talk about for those who can do it before getting married is sexual abstinence. But here we are not preaching abstinence too much because we know that may be rather hypocritical, as some people may not be able to practice abstinence. So, we preach the use of condoms.
“Condom is highly protective, it is indeed a two-edged sword, as it protects against infections and also protects against unwanted pregnancies. But unfortunately, close to 80 per cent of unmarried young people do not use a condom during sexual intercourse in our society today.
“When women have an infection, instead of going to the hospital where they can be investigated and treated, they go to buy drugs which may not treat it or treat it partially. Those who have an infection should go to the proper place (hospitals) for treatment”.
The medical expert said that the centre had produced 123 babies, including 20 sets of twins and eight sets of triplets, through IVF between October 2019 and now.
“After conceiving here through IVF, we refer some of our patients to hospitals near them to reduce the stress of having to come here. I hand them over to other doctors there for delivery, as long as they are specialists who can take care of the babies and the mothers. People come from outside the state or country,” the medical consultant said.
The PUNCH reported recently that a fertility expert, Dr Jaiyeoba Adeyemi, urged couples who had been trying to conceive for a year without success to seek fertility evaluation or treatment, stressing the urgency for women aged 35 and above to act early, as fertility declined with age.
Adeyemi had said, “Women above 35 need more urgent care than women in their 20s and early 30s. The general rule is that couples who have been trying to conceive for one year and have not gotten pregnant should seek fertility treatment or at least fertility testing”.