{"id":32944,"date":"2022-06-23T11:48:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T11:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies"},"modified":"2022-06-23T12:01:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T12:01:34","slug":"more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","title":{"rendered":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that assists in the conception of a child.<\/p>\n

IVF is where the female egg is fertilised in the lab and the embryo is taken back to grow in the uterus.<\/p>\n

But many people are questioning the safety of this technology, which was first successfully applied in 1978 in England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIVF is very safe and the babies are very normal. I believe you meet many IVF babies and you can\u2019t differentiate them from other babies,\u201d Dr Joseph Kafuuma, a fertility specialist at Women\u2019s Hospital International and Fertility Centre in Bukoto, Kampala, says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t create babies in the hospital, we just aid in fertilisation. They are very normal babies, there is no increased risk of abnormalities,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Infertility affects both males and females.<\/p>\n

Between 10 and 15 percent of couples in Uganda cannot have children due to infertility, according to the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n

As high as 75 percent of these are due to sexually transmitted infections, which lead to blockage of the fallopian tubes in women and sperm ducts in men.<\/p>\n

Dr Sachin Kulkarni, a consultant at the IVF and fertility unit of UMC Victoria Hospital in Kampala, notes that there are a lot of childless couples in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons is obesity, having pelvic infections repeatedly and suffering from fibroids. People who need IVF are those who have tried for around six years and they have not got pregnant,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He gives other causes for infertility as age [women approaching their 40s], women with low hormone levels and they have fewer eggs in their bodies, men with low sperm count, and [women] who have gone through multiple fibroids surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe treatment we are giving includes injectable gonadotrophin so that a patient can produce more eggs and have virtual pregnancy, IVF and egg donation programmes,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Dr Kafuuma, on the other hand, says for men who do not have sperms in their semen, sperms are extracted through a minor surgery on their scrotum.
\n\u201cWe extract a little tissue from their testicles then we use a few sperms we get to fertilise the egg,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Procedure for IVF<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIVF fertilisation is done outside the woman\u2019s body. We get a woman\u2019s egg and add a man\u2019s sperm and put them together in a glass tube where fertilisation takes place. The tube does the work of the fallopian tube,\u201d Dr Kafuuma says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 24 hours, they will fertilise. We then leave them in the incubator for three to five days. So there, the baby develops into a stage known as an embryo,\u201d the expert explains.<\/p>\n

Dr Kafuuma says after those days, they get the embryos and transfer them into the uterus, where they are implanted and start growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put about three embryos. We put many because not all IVF procedures are 100 percent successful. If we got many eggs from the woman and made many embryos, we freeze the remainder for the future,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Cost<\/b><\/p>\n

Both experts were not willing to reveal the amount of money people spend on an IVF procedure.<\/p>\n

But Dr Mukuzi Muhereza, another specialist and former general secretary of Uganda Medical Association, told this newspaper people are paying somewhere between Shs14m and Shs18m for the procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you went out of Kampala, I know some colleagues from Mbarara who are doing that but anywhere else, you find that it becomes very inaccessible and very expensive. There is no guarantee that you will be successful in the first session. For one session, you will have to plan between Shs14m to Shs18m,\u201d he reveals.<\/p>\n

Dr Mukuzi appealed to the government to improve the capacity of the regional referral hospitals to provide fertility-related services, including IVF.<\/p>\n

According to information from the Health Ministry, the government has \u201cestablished the Women\u2019s Hospital: Maternal and Neonatal Centre at Mulago hospital to provide affordable specialised fertility care to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Causes of infertility<\/b>
\nIn men<\/b><\/p>\n

\u25cf Abnormal sperm production or function due to genetic defects, health problems such as diabetes and infections.<\/p>\n

\u25cf Over exposure to radiation and chemicals, alcohol\/ tobacco consumption, drug abuse, use of steroids<\/p>\n

\u25cf Cancer & its treatment.<\/p>\n

In females<\/b><\/p>\n

\u25cf Ovulation disorders<\/p>\n

\u25cf Uterine and cervical abnormalities<\/p>\n

\u25cf Damage or blockage to fallopian tubes caused by inflammation<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that assists in the conception of a child. IVF is where the female egg is fertilised in the lab and the embryo is taken back to grow in the uterus. But many people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":32943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-32944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nMore infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\"},\"wordCount\":771,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\",\"name\":\"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies - Uganda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\",\"name\":\"Uganda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies - Uganda","description":"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies","og_description":"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","og_site_name":"Uganda","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies","datePublished":"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies"},"wordCount":771,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Uganda","uganda"],"articleSection":["all news","community","homepage-english"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies","name":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies - Uganda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-23T11:48:46+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T12:01:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The high rate of infertility in the country is making couples settle for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_13-62b4560054aa3.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/more-infertile-couples-turn-to-ivf-in-search-for-babies#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More infertile couples turn to IVF in search for babies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/","name":"Uganda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}