Nagho Swu
MCE, IVF Scientist
Before we begin to dive in, why infertility is even a topic to be addressed, let's regard me as your extrovert friend, a friend who spills daring facts without the concern of being judged. The issue is well ignored in our society because of unsolicited stigmas (sexual health, sex education, infertility and reproductive health).
You will however know at the end, why these are important to be understood and acknowledged. But firstly, you know your own body more than anyone or at least we Gen Z know it a little bit more than anyone else. Thanks to goggle and the awkwardly skipped reproduction chapter in our 11th and 12th biology textbook.
It is pretty evident that, we are all a beautiful seed that leaped to exist with a higher purpose and then there's life, the life that needs to go on and the generation that needs to be proceeding.
And if asked why conceiving a baby naturally has become a challenge to many married couples, a lot of factors come in picture. Let me comment some of the common. The choice of lifestyle (smoking, poor diet, alcohol consumption, late marriages, addictions, stress etc).
In modern times, now many people delay marriages due to educational and career pursuits and this can increase the risk of infertility because fertility declines with age, particularly for women. I am not influencing anyone to rush for a marriage neither, am I vouching for the later. All I'm letting you know is that an Embryologist (an/VF Scientist who works in human reproduction field) has your back to preserve your generation; in the form of: an egg freezing, sperm freezing during your fertile age to keep at bay your worries on biological clock. People undergoing chemotherapy should as well opt for freezing their gametes.
In ancient time, the technology and medical knowledge necessary for in vitro fertilization (IVF) did not exist. And even to these days, lack of awareness mostly in rural areas concerning infertility does negatively influence the discussion of reproductive health. Science now exists with its magic. It is just that there has never been a vocal representation in our region to bring a solution known to all. Today I'm convinced it's never too late for you and I as a responsible fast paced youth to change how our society judge and prey upon people struggling to bear a child of own.
As much as the world has evolved with great inventions over the years, it has as well contributed to a lot of environmental pollution, us consuming chemically produced edibles, stressing to fit into societal norms; where stress being a huge thief in declining the sperm count (a sperm Is what meets an egg Inside woman's body to develop into a baby). Living in the technology world where we depend on electronics; can you men guess that radiation from a laptop and mobile phone does affect your sperm quality?
And for the health sake, how long will we choose to ignore that the cases of sexually transmitted disease (STDs) and HIV and AIDS has since long being uprising (it can impact fertility). Are we going to continue living in denial rather than addressing the matter? The right sex education is the need of an hour to promote our overall well-being, positive approach to cultural and ethical values, halt myths and misconceptions, protect mental health, body awareness and list goes on.
Undoubtedly, women have always being the subject of flaws when couples do not conceive. We live in a society where people speculate it to be a curse of been barren. That's how obnoxiously our society has been encouraged since decades, as well daunting the mental health of a married couple. It has always been a men and a women equal involvement towards the fertility journey but no one told us so. All I'm conveying is that infertility is a disease not a curse. Therefore let's educate our nearest by doing our bits.
