Singh Vinita, Rajpal Gitika, Majumdar Sagarika, Mandal Sucharita, Sahu Rajshree
Department of OBGY, AIIMS, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
J Educ Health Promot. 2023 Jan 31;12:3. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_581_22. eCollection 2023.
The lack of fundamental knowledge and awareness about the biological process of reproduction is low worldwide but has reportedly higher incidence rates in under-developed countries. Infertility can have a tremendous effect on a woman's psychological and social well-being, pushing her toward mental stress, anxiety, depression self-blame, self-isolation, feeling of worthlessness, and lack of interest in life. The present study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge and awareness regarding factors affecting fertility and also to ascertain the emotional status of females visiting the Obstetrics and Gynecology out-patient department for fertility assistance.
A cross-sectional study was performed by using a questionnaire which had two parts; the first part had questions about awareness and knowledge of the subject of infertility, and the second part had 12 questions that assessed the psychological and emotional status of the participants, and it also explored prevailing myths about infertility based on a validated questionnaire.
There was a significant difference in mean knowledge score; those who were more educated had better knowledge of various aspects of infertility. The overall adequacy for knowledge and awareness revealed that only 62 (47.7%) of the participants had adequate knowledge (score >6) regarding female infertility. The mean score for knowledge among all the respondents was 6.61 ± 1.48. The overall emotional and psychological score suggested that 30 (23%) of the respondents were disturbed because of stress because of infertility.
Infertility can have a serious impact on the psychological well-being of females, and social pressure and stigma associated with childlessness can further worsen the physical and emotional well-being of couples, which needs to be addressed before starting treatment of infertility for a better response to treatment. The limited knowledge and prevailing mis-conceptions regarding infertility need to be sincerely dealt with to complement the medical treatment of infertility.
全球范围内，人们对生殖生物学过程的基础知识和认识普遍不足，据报道，在欠发达国家，这一情况更为严重。不孕症会对女性的心理和社会幸福感产生巨大影响，使其面临精神压力、焦虑、抑郁、自责、自我孤立、无价值感以及对生活缺乏兴趣等问题。本研究旨在确定关于影响生育因素的知识和认识水平，并查明前往妇产科门诊寻求生育帮助的女性的情绪状况。
采用问卷调查进行横断面研究，问卷分为两部分；第一部分包含有关不孕症主题的认识和知识问题，第二部分有12个问题，用于评估参与者的心理和情绪状况，同时还基于一份经过验证的问卷探讨了关于不孕症的流行误区。
平均知识得分存在显著差异；受教育程度较高的人对不孕症的各个方面有更好的了解。知识和认识的总体充足率显示，只有62名（47.7%）参与者对女性不孕症有足够的了解（得分>6）。所有受访者的知识平均得分为6.61±1.48。总体情绪和心理得分表明，30名（23%）受访者因不孕症压力而感到困扰。
不孕症会对女性的心理健康产生严重影响，与无子女相关的社会压力和污名会进一步恶化夫妻的身心健康，在开始不孕症治疗之前需要解决这一问题，以便更好地应对治疗。需要真诚地处理关于不孕症的有限知识和普遍存在的误解，以辅助不孕症的医学治疗。
