Medical & Clinical Reviews

Online Fertility Survey

Objective: To determine the level of knowledge on common fertility issues among the population studied.

Outcome measures: Fifty percent or more of the respondents correctly answering a particular question was adjudged as sufficient knowledge of that particular fertility issue and less than 50% adjudged insufficient knowledge.

Methodology: The study was conducted by the Nordica Fertility Centre Lagos in 2012. A simple multiple choice questionnaire with 20 questions about fertility was posted on the Nordica Fertility Centre Lagos website for visitors to the site to answer. Results were collated and analyzed using SPSS 17.0.

Results: A total of 289 persons participated in the online survey. Majority of the respondents lived in the Lagos area but responses came in from virtually all over Nigeria. A few responses came from outside Nigeria. There was sufficient knowledge on such issues as definition of infertility, age at which woman's fertility is maximal, frequency of intercourse per week when trying to conceive, who to see after a year of tests with no success, basic infertility tests for men, normal sperm counts, most common sperm abnormality, strongest risk factor for infertility in women, how long to wait before seeking help in women less than 35 years of age, what is unexplained infertility, meaning of menopause and what was the most successful option for older women trying to conceive. There was insufficient knowledge on sex positions increasing the likelihood of conception, monthly chance of conception, gender that experiences infertility most, causes of infertility, fertile period and irregular cycles. Up to 65% of the respondents felt certain sex positions increase the likelihood of conception. Over 30% said that a woman's fertility begins to decline from 40 years and beyond. About forty seven percent felt mere change of dates of menses monthly meant cycles were irregular. Only 49.5% correctly knew the fertile period. About 61% thought monthly natural fertility/conception rates was 50-70%. Staphylococcus was considered the leading factor in the causation of infertility by 41% of respondents, scored higher than male, female and combined factors. Majority of the respondents, 42.9% felt women were the gender that experienced infertility most while 11.4% of them said it was the men.

Conclusion: There is still a need to improve knowledge on fertility and infertility. The online portal is a good source for this.

Author(s):

Abayomi B Ajayi1, Victor D Ajayi1, Ifeoluwa Oyetunji1, Oluwafunmilola Biobaku1, Esther Odiete E1 and Bamgboye M Afolabi2

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