By Jill Moss
Broadcast: March 22, 2004
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English
Development Report.
A man and a woman are considered infertile if they
cannot produce a pregnancy after twelve months of
trying. For centuries, the lack of ability to have
children was blamed only on women. Scientists now know
that men, too, can be infertile.
The organization PATH says infertility affects an
estimated sixty-million to eighty-million people. It
says the great majority live in developing countries.
PATH is the Program for Appropriate Technology in
Health. This non-profit group is in Seattle, Washington.
There are many different causes of infertility. Some are
genetic. Others involve physical problems or injuries.
Still others are environmental, like pesticides and
other chemicals. Experts say diet and the use of alcohol
and drugs can also affect fertility.
Some of these causes are preventable. So are others,
such as infections spread through sex. Dirty conditions
during childbirth can also cause infections that make
women infertile. So can unsafe ways to end unwanted
pregnancies. And so can the tradition in some cultures
of cutting the female sex organs.
In industrial countries, the best-known current
treatment for infertility is a process called in vitro
fertilization. This involves joining an egg with sperm
in a laboratory. Once fertilized, the egg is placed in
the woman to develop into a fetus. Treatments can also
involve the use of fertility drugs to increase the
production of eggs.
But experts say cultural and religious beliefs may
prevent people from seeking modern treatments. In Italy,
for example, a new law took effect this month. The
Medically Assisted Reproduction Law restricts or bans
the use of many kinds of technologies. In other
societies, people often blame evil spirits when a couple
cannot have children. So people seek traditional
treatments.
In any case, technologies for assisted reproduction cost
thousands of dollars. So public health systems usually
do not offer them. Many experts say public health
systems should do more to educate people about
preventable causes of infertility. These include
sexually transmitted diseases.
The experts also say doctors should require an
examination of both the man and the woman when a couple
is infertile. The group PATH says men are the cause, or
part of the cause, of infertility in more than half of
couples.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written
by Jill Moss. This is Bob Doughty.
This article has been modified by UNSV.
Broadcast: March 22, 2004
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English
Development Report.
A man and a woman are considered infertile if they
cannot produce a pregnancy after twelve months of
trying. For centuries, the lack of ability to have
children was blamed only on women. Scientists now know
that men, too, can be infertile.
The organization PATH says infertility affects an
estimated sixty-million to eighty-million people. It
says the great majority live in developing countries.
PATH is the Program for Appropriate Technology in
Health. This non-profit group is in Seattle, Washington.
There are many different causes of infertility. Some are
genetic. Others involve physical problems or injuries.
Still others are environmental, like pesticides and
other chemicals. Experts say diet and the use of alcohol
and drugs can also affect fertility.
Some of these causes are preventable. So are others,
such as infections spread through sex. Dirty conditions
during childbirth can also cause infections that make
women infertile. So can unsafe ways to end unwanted
pregnancies. And so can the tradition in some cultures
of cutting the female sex organs.
In industrial countries, the best-known current
treatment for infertility is a process called in vitro
fertilization. This involves joining an egg with sperm
in a laboratory. Once fertilized, the egg is placed in
the woman to develop into a fetus. Treatments can also
involve the use of fertility drugs to increase the
production of eggs.
But experts say cultural and religious beliefs may
prevent people from seeking modern treatments. In Italy,
for example, a new law took effect this month. The
Medically Assisted Reproduction Law restricts or bans
the use of many kinds of technologies. In other
societies, people often blame evil spirits when a couple
cannot have children. So people seek traditional
treatments.
In any case, technologies for assisted reproduction cost
thousands of dollars. So public health systems usually
do not offer them. Many experts say public health
systems should do more to educate people about
preventable causes of infertility. These include
sexually transmitted diseases.
The experts also say doctors should require an
examination of both the man and the woman when a couple
is infertile. The group PATH says men are the cause, or
part of the cause, of infertility in more than half of
couples.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written
by Jill Moss. This is Bob Doughty.
This article has been modified by UNSV.
