PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE OF INVITRO FERTILIZATION AS A TREATMENT OPTION AMONG INFERTILE WOMEN IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN SOKOTO, NORTHERN NIGERIA

Bello S., Oche M., Edzu U.Y., Tunau K. A., Abdullahi Z. K., Garba J.A., Burodo A.T. and Sani U.M.

Introduction: Infertility is defined as the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. It is a source of distress for couples as societal norms may equate infertility with a failure on a personal, interpersonal, emotional or social level. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a method of assisted reproduction and may be the only option for couples who cannot have children through the natural biological means. Methodology: The study was conducted among infertile women attending the Gynaecological clinic of UDUTH SOKOTO. It was a descriptive cross sectional study in design where 203 participants were recruited using systematic sampling technique. Data was collected using interviewer-administered, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire and was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The age of respondents ranged from 18 to 42years (mean age = 28.9; SD = 5.2). Majority of the respondents 166(81.8%) had positive perception on IVF. A large proportion of them 130(64%) demonstrated good knowledge on IVF. Conclusion: Majority of the respondents in this study had positive perception (81.8%) and good knowledge of IVF (64.0%) as a treatment option. Information on IVF was obtained from health personnel/facility and friends/siblings in 94 (62.7%) and 95 (63.3%) of them respectively.