Friday 15 / November / 2024
Muscat: Late marriages, stress, and sedentary lifestyles are factors contributing to the rise in infertility in Oman, experts say.
Globally, one in six couples has fertility issues and some of these couples require a medical procedure, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), to conceive. In Oman too, infertility has been on the rise and many couples are seeking treatment.
According to a study published in Sultan Qaboos University’s medical journal in December 2006, to examine the relation between age, education, residence, and fertility rates and changes in fertility rates between 1994/95 and 1999/2000, the marital fertility rate in 1999/2000 was 7.12 births.
The rates for rural and urban dwellers were 8.07 and 6.75, respectively, in 1999/2000. Corresponding rates in 1994/95 (8.65, 8.30, and 9.69, respectively) were significantly higher than those in 1999/2000 for all categories, indicating a reduction in rates.
Education was a strong determinant of fertility, and the study supported the idea that the higher the education of the woman, the lower her fertility, and that fertility is on the decline in Oman. The data for the study was extracted from the Oman National Health Survey, 2000. Dr Sharifa Al Mahrizi, senior consultant and founder of the Al Reem Medical Centre, which specialises in infertility and IVF, says that there is a growing demand for IVF treatment in Oman, “Yes, I have seen a growing demand for IVF in Oman; quite a good number of couples require it here.”
Dr Mahrizi graduated with the first medical class at the Sultan Qaboos University and later trained at the Royal Hospital, after which she practiced in the UK and Canada, later returning to Oman. 25 years experience as a physician.
“Earlier Omani couples used to go abroad frequently, either because they liked it to be private, so nobody knows about it, or because the specialty was not available in Oman. There are more IVF units in Oman, but I am the only Omani practicing it. “With the increase in awareness, more couples are coming to ask about it, and they like to hear it from me because there is a greater cultural understanding between us- they ask about halal and haraam issues, costs, and other such things.”
According to ‘Statista’, a statistics portal, the fertility rate in Oman fell from 2.96 in 2005 to 2.71 in 2015. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by one woman of child-bearing age. A study by UNICEF said that the total fertility rate in Oman in 2012 was 2.9 and the annual number of births (in thousands) in 2012 was 72.3.
Dr Mahrizi noted that from 2005 until 2017, the percentage has increased, “The increase is not on a daily basis, but there is more awareness, so more couples are seeking the treatment. Now they accept it, so we have more patients, there is more education, they go online and read about it, so they accept it better.”
Lifestyle factors, leading to more overweight and obese women compared to the past, also reduces conceptions.
“Obesity, eating junk food, and other lifestyle factors matter. When it comes to lifestyle, it is the type of food we eat and lack of exercise that leads to obesity. Stress is another big issue here. It has been proven scientifically that stress reduces pregnancy rates,” said Dr Mahrizi.
On a daily basis, Dr Mahrizi sees some15 to 20 patients with fertility issues at her medical centre. “We are not less fertile than the previous generation, but the age of marriage has changed- women are marrying late, and the main factor is the age of the woman. Now you have to prove yourself, you have to be educated, find a job, and so, we have more issues. At the age of 30, the number of eggs in a woman starts to reduce, and this is scientifically proven; it further lowers by 35 and by the age of 40, it is less, and so chances of pregnancy are even less after that,” she added.
Dr Shahila Sheikh, a senior doctor from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, told the Times of Oman, “There is an age factor; as womenare becoming educated, they are getting married late. Also, maybe not in this part of the world, but internationally, women are delaying pregnancies because of their careers. This, along with the increasing age of the females also plays a role, because then, her ovaries have less follicles for fertility.”
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“In this part of the world, starting a family seems to be a priority. So they come quite early with infertility problems, they don’t delay. Otherwise, increasing obesity because of a sedentary and comfortable lifestyle definitely plays a role.”
“Also in this part of the world, genetics is a cause as well, as they marry within family and cousins, so that also plays a factor,” said Dr Sheikh.
