SHUT NOT HER WOMB: How Infertility can affect me, my family and my country

 Note: This may be out-of-topic, but I find this article (written by my husband) to be worthy of sharing. After all, dealing with infertility is currently part of our married life's JOURNEY and TRAVEL. 

The purpose of marriage is to create a family – complete with a child or children.  I am married to my wife for more than four years now, but the blessing of having a child seems far-to-be realized. My wife was diagnosed with uterine myoma and a total obstruction or blockage on her left fallopian tube. With these reproductive conditions, our doctor told us that my wife’s chances of conceiving is at 50%. Adding to our painful agony is the reality that my wife is also increasing her age. It is common knowledge that as a female ages, fertiliy drops. And so, my human mind tells me that our time is running out.  This article hopes to initiate social consciousness about the alarming rate of infertility in the  Philippines; including its impact to the life of infertile couples and the nation as a whole.

Infertility, by the way, is the inability of couples to procreate after one (1) year of unprotected sexual intercourse. It is consider a DISEASE by the World Health Organization which affects many couples worldwide.  In the Philippines, there is one out of ten Filipino couples suffering from infertility as revealed in a study conducted by Synovate for the pharmaceutical group Merck Serono in 2011. While infertility seems to be a “small issue” as compared to some other problems requiring serious interventions from the government, we cannot discount its far reaching effects in the family and the economy.

Recent studies about the impact of infertility among married couples revealed that SEPARATION or in some countries, DIVORCE, is the top repercussion. Majority are not seeking medical help because of financial constraint. The family, as we all know, is the basic unit of our nation and we cannot afford to have broken homes just because couples don’t have the necessary money to cure infertility. We must understand that disregarding problems like this, which are obviously detrimental to family life, can lead to the destruction of our moral fibers.  Therefore, the problem of infertility should never go unnoticed in the eyes of the government. After all, the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Law inlvolves, under Section 4 (q), “prevention, treatment and management of infertility and sexual dysfunction as vital elements of an effective reproductive health care.”  

It saddens me, really, with the overwhelming infomercials of the Department of Health about artificial contraception airing in different television networks. I find it as a case of selective implementation of the RH Law, because they are too much focused on contraception while neglecting the mandate of the law that they, as the Department of Health, should also attend to the medical needs of people suffering from infertility. It is a disservice to the Filipino people that the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of the RH Law did not identify a specific and comprehensive plan of treating infertility. With Php. 2.2 billion budget for the family health and responsible parenting line item this 2016, I hope that the DOH can look into the possibility of aligning some of these funds for infertility and infertility-related programs.

As far as the economy is concerned, it is interesting to note that Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the Philippines, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board(2012), has “decreased from 7.2 in 1960 to 3.1 in 2010.” Meaning, the average number of Children that will be borne by a Filipino woman throughout her lifetime is 3.Considering the decreasing trend in the country’s fertility rate; the implementation of the Reproductive Health Law, where population control is being emphasized; and the consistent rate of infertility affecting couples, it is interesting to note that the possibility of a “demographic winter” or population decline might soon be realized in the Philippines. And this, unfortunately, has far reaching implications in the country’s human capital and soon, thereafter, economic growth. A study conducted by HSBC in 2012 (The World in 2050) supported the proposition that a large population has a large potential to boost economic growth, and to quote: “First and most straightforward, it is generally easier to produce more stuff when you have more people on the production line.” The same study also revealed that, in the next 40 years, the Philippines will be one of the largest economies of the world because of its large population: “The star performer, however, is the Philippines where the combination of strong fundamentals and powerful demographics gives rise to an average growth rate of 7% for the coming 40 years.” You see, the people are the greatest asset of every nation. The above reason is the reason why I do not subscribe to the common notion that “our country is poor because we are too many.” We are poor because our Government Leaders kept on imposing abuses on our money which are meant for Social Services and Development.

I hope that the current administration will give some positive attention to the plight of the infertile couples considering the various effects it can have to our nation.  I also hope that our current leaders will push for the creation of a national policy that will solve the problem of infertility in an ethical, efficient and economical manner.  

Childlessness, I tell you, is very tormenting. The recent april fool’s day had my social media news feed bursting with pregnancy joke.  I was personally offended with such insensitive way of infusing humor; because, for one, pregnancy is not a disease to be avoided as implied by their posts. It is a celebration of LIFE – be it planned or unplanned.  As for me and my wife (and I believe the rest of the infertile couples), we continue to pray to GOD, the Giver of Life, to hear, with MERCY, our impassioned plea: “Lord, kahit isa lang po.”