This is a summary of basic facts on Infertility in Mauritius. If you would like to see the full report click here.

In Mauritius a percentage of all couples in the reproductive age group are actively trying to have children are not able to conceive. If this situation has continued for more than 1 year then the couple is deemed to fall under the heading of infertile.

The rate is never likely to fall below 3%, is likely to be around 5% and additional factors could raise it even higher. In the Republic of Mauritius the number of people in the reproductive age group is about 600, 000. At the lower rate of 3% that would indicate that a minimum of 18, 000 of these people will experience some form of infertility.

In 1998, the Operations Research Department of the MFPA conducted a small survey of couples who regarded themselves as suffering from infertility to see whether there were any apparent indicators of causative or relative factors.

The MFPA has previously documented a number of instances of primary and secondary infertility in Mauritius.

The World Health Organisation has proposed the following Operational Definitions

• Primary Infertility means that the couple has never conceived, despite co-habitation and exposure to pregnancy for a period of 2 years
• Secondary Infertility means that the couple has previously conceived, but is subsequently unable to conceive despite co-habitation and exposure to pregnancy for a period of 2 years. If the woman has breast fed a previous infant, then exposure to pregnancy is calculated from the end of lactational amenorrhea
• Pregnancy Wastage is the term used when a couple is able to conceive, but unable to produce a live birth.
• Unproven Infertility or Unproven Fertility refers to problems sometimes perceived by individuals or couples as infertility or included as infertility in demographical surveys, when, in fact, the woman has virtually no risk of conception. The problem may be biological, such as occurs among lactating women who are anovulatory, or among couples practising contraception. Alternatively, the problem may be circumstantial, such as when there is no co-habitation or coitus because an individual's sexual partner may be temporarily away.
• Childlessness is the definition of infertility often used by demographers. Not having a living child, however, could be due to one of several possible reasons: primary infertility, pregnancy wastage or infant and child mortality. Nevertheless, the demographic concept is useful in estimating the magnitude of the infertility problem and permits comparison between countries.

The survey took recognition of the fact that fertility requires a combination of effective events from both male and female partners and that either or both may have an identifiable problem that is the cause of the current difficulty.

The primary objective was to collate and compile empirical data. This focused on the possible medical, biological and socio-cultural factors. The secondary objective was to collect, process and analyse data applicable to related fields and topics of interest. Because all facets of Sexual and Reproductive health are, to some degree, interlinked, the study data could prove useful in related fields of enquiry.

The study was implemented and conducted by the Operations Research Department of the MFPA.

The age range for the survey was set between 21 years and 49 years old. The average age of respondents was 36 years old for Men and 34 years old for women.

The data collected was representative of nearly all of the main areas of residence with a bias toward the urban areas because of the ease of tracking down respondents.

The survey tried to cover as wide a range of socio-economic strata as possible.

The data gathered showed that for both men and women, who were working, the monthly salary tended to be in the range of Rs2, 000 to Rs10, 000.

Around 8% of respondents had been tying unsuccessfully to conceive for less than 1 year and so do not fall into the classical definition of being infertile. On the other extreme 20% of respondents had been trying for more than 10 years and 14% for over 9.

65% of women are experiencing Primary Infertility while 35% of women are experiencing Secondary Infertility.

Around 12% of female respondents stated that they had had 1 termination of pregnancy performed in the past and a similar number, 12%, stated that they had had more than 1.

60% of Female respondents said that the pattern of their menstruation was regular, with 40% experiencing irregular patterns. Significantly, 60% of women in the sample stated that their periods were painful.

Anaemia and Diabetes were mentioned by 8% and 3% respectively of women whereas they do not feature at all in the sample of men, contrary to known facts about the prevalence rates among the population. 3% of the female sample mentioned being treated for Malaria, although this should not be cause for alarm as the sample contained a bias toward the higher income brackets, including those that travel abroad. With men there was preponderance toward High Blood Pressure that, among women, was too small to register. The incidence of Mumps is worth noting. The prevalence of rates of mumps among adolescent boys and the consequent impact on fertility should be noted as there is known to be a correlation between this particular disease when experienced by adolescent boys and fertility problems in later life.

No respondent admitted to either currently being treated for, or previously having been treated for, a Sexually Transmitted Disease. This is unfortunate, as data on this particular area of enquiry is particularly important.

18% of the Male sample stated that they had sex between 10 and 15 times per month. The equivalent numbers for Female interviewees are 14% for 10 times per month and 6% for 15 times per month.

Almost twice as many Men as Women see their Private Doctor as being the best source of information and advice about fertility. With Women there seems to be a preference for Private Doctors, Hospitals and the Mauritius Family Planning Association. In comparison to Women very few Men see a Family Planning Clinic or Gynaecologist as a source of information, help or advice and more Men prefer the counsel of Friends and Relatives than do Women. A significantly higher proportion of Men than Women indicated that they Don't Know where to access help or advice in this field.

There is no evidence to suggest that any type of contraception method usage is known to impact adversely on subsequent fertility provided it is used correctly and in the manner advised by the manufacturer.