By Sandra Glahn
Myths about Infertility When it comes to infertility, a lot of myths get passed around. Maybe you’ve heard – and believed – some of them.
MYTH: INFERTILITY IS RARE.
FACT IInfertility is quite common. Approximately one iin six i couples of childbearing age experience fertility problems.
MYTH: INFERTILITY IS NOT ANY MORE COMMON THAN IT USED TO BE; IT’S JUST THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT IT MORE. FACT The T number of couples diagnosed with fertility
bl problems is on the rise. Delayed childbearing and sexually transmitted disease are partially responsible. Environmental factors may also play a role.
MYTH: ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE WHO WERE
MYTH: INFERTILE COUPLES JUST NEED TO RELAX AND THEY’LL GET PREGNANT.
FACT Infertility is not caused by the ffailure to relax. Ninety-five b percent of the time it is due to a diagnosable medical cause. About sixty percent of all couples who seek treatment will eventually have a biological child. The percentage is much lower for couples who do not pursue medical treatment.
INFERTILE WERE WOMEN. W have to be careful to avoid viewing the FACT We Bi B ibl ble as ble as an exhaustive textbook on infertility. While Bible the Scriptures describe a number of couples who had difficulty conceiving, the stories are not about the process of infertility per se. And women are not the only infertile people. The levirate marriage laws (Deuteronomy 25:5, 6) suggest male fertility problems. In addition, Ruth was married for ten years to her first husband without children. After he died, she went on to marry Boaz and give birth to Obed, King David’s grandfather. This would suggest that her initial inability to conceive was due to male factor infertility.
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“It seems there are as many causes of infertility as there are people,” says Dan Underwood, who has a low sperm count. “Some of our infertile friends have antibody problems, some don’t ovulate, some have tubal damage. In about a third of couples, both husband and wife have fertility problems. A lot of people think it’s a ‘women’s issue.’