Read to know more about Fertility Awareness Hope for Starting Families campaign.
[Press Release]
Forming new life brings unfamiliar excitement and challenge to couples that seek to build a family. However, the decline of fertility rates brings forth a rising concern that couples in Asia are increasingly having difficulty in conceiving. Among the many pressing factors that contribute to infertility are the personal and social issues, and inadequate knowledge about the condition and treatments options.
Aimed at extending knowledge on infertility and its treatments in the Philippines and encouraging couples to seek medical help, the Hope for Starting Families campaign of the local medical community and leading biopharmaceutical company Merck Serono recently led a session that featured expert insights on the common causes of the condition and various methods that couples can take to improve chances of conception.
The Roots of Infertility
During the forum, fertility specialist Dr. Anthony Ancheta, FPOGS (Fellow, Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society), FPSREI (Fellow, Philippine Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility, Inc.) shared that men and women are faced with a variety of biological and non-biological factors that contribute to infertility. There are male and female characteristics that separately influence the likelihood of conceiving a child as well as undetermined causes that prevent couples from achieving their goal of parenthood.
Female factors that affect infertility, which include ovulation problems, blocked fallopian tubes, uterine factors, and poor egg quality because of age contribute 35-40 percent to the inability of a couple to conceive. Another 35-40 percent account for the male factors that result to infertility include the sperm count, activity and quality, and male tube blockage.
The other 25 percent makes for multiple facets of unexplained fertility. In some cases, men and women undergo necessary tests to determine the cause of their inability to bear a child but results suggest that male and female factors are normal. This prompts a closer look at other sources of the problem such as medical illnesses, family history of infertility, previous surgery, sexual dysfunction, lifestyle factors, and work stress.
Hope for Starting Families campaign
In line with its Hope for Starting Families campaign, Merck Serono and the medical community joined hands to provide the online platform www.fertilityphilippines.com. The website aims to serve as a vehicle for information on infertility, its causes, and treatment options for Filipino couples.
From August 25 to 31, www.fertilityphilippines.com will host a microsite for the region wide effort Fertility Awareness Week 2013. The weeklong event will feature a series of web congresses on the nature of infertility, barriers to understanding the condition, and treatment options available in the Philippines for Filipino couples seeking to conceive. With Asia holding one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, each session ultimately aims to address infertility and create a path for couples in the region to openly talk about their difficulties with conceiving. Fertility Awareness Week 2013 is endorsed by the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) and the Philippine Society of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (PSREI) in partnership with Merck Serono.
For more information on Fertility Awareness Week 2013, visit the official Hope for Starting Families website www.fertilityphilippines.com.
