Asian women ignorant on fertility

HONG KONG - Reuters

Women in Asia are largely ignorant about fertility problems and tend to blame their failure to conceive on “God’s will” and bad luck, a survey has found.

 The survey, which covered 1,000 women in 10 countries who had been trying to conceive for at least six months, found that 62 percent of them did not suspect they may have a fertility problem.

 They were even less likely to point the finger at their husbands, with 80 percent of them not suspecting that their partners may have a problem with fertility. Only 30 percent of the women, all aged 25-40, recognized that obesity could reduce fertility and only 36 percent knew that chances of getting pregnant declined with age.

 Forty-three percent did not know a man may be infertile even if he could achieve an erection and 73 percent were unaware that men who had mumps after puberty could be infertile later on. Instead of getting treatment, 46 percent of respondents blamed their inability to conceive on “God’s will” and 45 percent put it down to bad luck.