Introduction:In Nigeria, a major reason for marriage is
procreation and married couples look forward to having children
within a year or two of marriage. The inability
to achieve conception and subsequently have a child among couples may lead to psychological complications. Objective: This
study assessed the psychological impact of infertility and its management on
women receiving treatment at a Fertility Specialist Hospital in a poor resource
setting. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 376 consenting
married women who sought and received fertility treatment at a private
Fertility Specialist Hospital, located at Abakaliki, South-East Nigeria between
May 1, 2017 and May 31, 2022. Socio-demographic and Structured questionnaires
were administered to the participants over a 5-year period. Results: The mean age of the
women at presentation was 36.9 (±7.2 SD) years. The majority of the women (227)
presented with secondary infertility accounting for 60.4%, while the rest had
primary infertility (χ2 = 16.18,
P = 0.001). Male-only factor
infertility accounted for 22.9% of all the infertility cases, female-only factor 21.3% while both
(male and female factors co-existing) accounted for 52.7% of all the cases. The
commonest cause of infertility in the study was poor sperm parameters (176) accounting
for 46.8% of cases, tubal factor 19.1% and anovulatory factor 22.3% (
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