Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Holistic approach sought to tackling infertility

Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE: Minister for Social Welfare Poongothai Aladi Aruna on Saturday called for a holistic approach to the management of infertility, which, she said, ranged from the basics such as sex education, weight loss and medication to advanced forms of treatment, including in-vitro fertilisation, intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection and other assisted reproduction techniques.

Handing over the ISO 9001: 2000 certificate, awarded to the Fertility Centre at the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, to Director C.V. Kannaki Uthraraj, the Minister said childlessness was a serious issue that had social and psychological implications. "Doctors should be thoroughly equipped to handle this medico-social issue of infertility."

Stigma

Citing World Health Organisation studies, Ms. Poongothai said 10 per cent of the couples in the world suffered from infertility. There was a huge stigma attached to childlessness. Some studies said that in a patriarchal society, only a period of three years was given to a couple to prove they could have a child. Affordability of assisted reproductive techniques was another area of focus. "As the Social Welfare Minister, I need to understand the desire of couples to become parents," she said to stress that infertility treatment should not be out of bounds for those who were in need of it.

To emphasise that women alone need not be infertile, the Minister said, it would be better if the husband underwent a sperm test before a laparoscopic surgery was done on the woman to know of the problems in her reproductive system.

Rural Industries Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy called for bringing down the cost of the treatment so that people need not remain childless. He urged Madras Medical College Dean T.P. Kalaniti, who was present, to make some wings of the government hospital attached to the college worthy of such a certification. "He [Dr. Kalaniti] had improved the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital to a great extent as its Dean till recently. That is why I call upon him to get ISO certification to the hospital in Chennai." Government hospitals would have to compete with private hospitals to excel in quality.

Efforts

Dr. Kalaniti said the certification required rigorous efforts to set quality standards. There were many fertility centres but only some achieved success.

Medical Council of India member A. Muruganathan appreciated the fertility centre for its research, in association with Bharathiar University, on male infertility.

Kovai Medical Centre chairman Nalla G. Palanisamy said the cost of infertility treatment was high because of the cost of the technology involved.

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