Traditional Practices Used by Infertile Women in El Mansoura City

Abstract

Background: Traditional practices are not new concepts, they have always been an integral part of all human cultures and they are transmitted from generation to generation through taboos or written documents. They constitute a major influence on the health of the individuals. The aim: This study was aimed to assess the traditional practices used by infertile women and assess the factors affecting it. Setting: The present study was carried out at gynecologic outpatient clinic and inpatient department affiliated to three governmental hospitals (El-Gamalia, Meet Salsil and El-Manzala). Study design usingexploratory descriptive design on 200 infertile women. Tool: An interview schedule it entailed seven parts; Socio-demographic characteristics, medical and surgical and Reproductive history, diagnostic methods, causes of infertility and traditional practices. The results of study finding that, more than one third of infertile women used “herbal and shock” (37.0% & 37.5%) respectively as a traditional practices for infertility treatment, while more than two fifths were used “belonging to another women, ritual and remedies” (42.5%, 40.5% and 46.5%) respectively and only (4.5%) used magic and Quranic verses. The most causes of using traditional methods reported by studied women were “positive previous experience, family desire, cheap and available”. Conclusion: most common traditional practices used by infertile women were remedies. Recommendations: Outreach health education programs should be developed for infertile women to increase their awareness about the medical treatment of infertility and the adverse effects of harmful traditional practices on their health.