A medical doctor, Alon Talmor, said infertility affects around one in six couples with the causes being shared equally among men and women.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
A Nigerian pastor based in South Africa, Paul Martins and his wife, Funmi Martins, have welcomed their first baby after being married for 13.
Family, friends and colleagues of the Martins have taken to Facebook to congratulate them on the arrival of their first child after 13 years of waiting.
One of such message reads: “Congratulations to Pastors Paul and Pastor Funmi Martins on the delivery of a bouncing Baby Girl. After 13 years of waiting on God with diligence and God did not fail. We celebrate with you for this miracle. The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. May your home remain blessed in Jesus name. We love you.”
Infertility and delayed conception has been prevalent in Nigeria.
A medical doctor, Alon Talmor, said infertility affects around one in six couples with the causes being shared equally among men and women.
For women infertility, he said: “The main causes of female infertility include failure to ovulate, hormone imbalance, obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), blocked tubes, endometriosis and low ovarian reserve. Ovarian reserve depletion is particularly common after reaching the age of 35. This is due to women being born with all the eggs they will ever produce. Therefore female fertility declines slightly at 30 years and there is a significant decline around 37 to 38 years of age. By the time a woman is 40 years old her fertility is a quarter of when she was 30. The miscarriage rate increases with age from about one in seven for women aged less than 25 years to about one in two at 40 years of age.”
For men, he explained: “The causes of male infertility include hormonal disorders, lifestyle factors causing oxidative stress such as obesity and cigarette smoking, genetic disorders such as Klinefelter syndrome, and failure of the testicle to produce sperm due to testicular damage. Drugs and some medications can adversely impact upon sperm health too.”