PREVALENCE OF FEMALE FACTOR INFERTILITY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN COUPLES SEEKING FERTILITY CARE IN SPHMMC, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background Infertility is a global issue in reproductive health. Infertility is not only a health problem that affects individuals but also a social problem that affects families, societies, and populations. There is a study limitation on the prevalence and associated factors of female factor infertility in our country. Objective This study will be conducted to assess the prevalence and associated factors of female factor infertility in couples seeking fertility care visiting St Paulo’s hospital millennium medical college, Infertility clinic, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from October 1, 2023 G.C to September 30, 2024. Method and Material: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Infertility clinic, using a structured and standardized questionnaire. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 393 patients. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) windows version 21.0. Data was presented using tables, graphs and text form. Odds Ratio with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to determine the effect of the independent variables on the outcome variable. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with female factor infertility at 95% confidence interval and P-value less than 0.05 was statistically significant. Result. Total of 393 women were enrolled, 58.8 % had female factor infertility. Of this, 59% had primary infertility and 41 % had secondary infertility. Female factor infertility highly associated with an increase in the age of the women (AOR=0.38; 95%CI; 0.220, 0.658), age at marriage iii (AOR=2.844; 95%CI; 1.572, 5.145), previous history of abdominopelvic surgery (AOR=5.199; 95%CI; 2.827, 9.5620) and pain during sexual intercourse (AOR=0.382; 95%CI; 0.167, 0.874). Conclusion: The prevalence of female factor infertility among women in couples seeking fertility care in SPHMMC is 58.8 %, was high compared to the WHO worldwide estimate, so emphasis should be given to it. Age of the patient, age at marriage, pain during sexual intercourse and history of abdominopelvic surgery were significantly associated with female factor infertility. Key words: infertility, prevalence, cross sectional study, associated factors, Ethiopia