Resilience of the Patients to the Management of Infertility in a Low-Income Sub-Saharan Setting

Introduction: Infertility is a dramatic situation worldwide, particularly in low-income areas like the sub-Saharan Africa region, which is a pronatalist environment. Infertility management is very demanding because the people are poor, and there is a lack of relevant medical platforms and medical insurance. The current study aimed to analyze the resilience of patients to infertility management follow-up. Materiel and Methods: The current study is a descriptive cross-sectional one undertaken in the University Clinics of Kinshasa and at the Edith Medical Center from January 2000 to December 2020; about 3867 patients sought care for infertility. Results: The age of the patients ranged from 20 to 49 years, with an average of 33.1 ± 5.7 years. Most patients were married, housewives and nulliparous, with a median follow-up time of 6 weeks. Nulliparous patients were more resilient than primiparous and multiparous patients, with the risk of dropout (OR: 1.3; 1.7, respectively). The duration of infertility of more than 5 years was associated with the reduction of the risk of dropping out by 72% [95% CI (0.14 - 0.54); p = 0.000)]. Getting pregnant was associated with a more resilient attitude with a risk of dropout reduced by 93% [95% CI (0.03 - 0.18); p = 0.000]. Conclusion: Patients spent 6 weeks in specialist care for infertility. Nulliparity and long duration of infertility were the main factors for the resilience to specialized infertility out of IVF care in a low-income setting.