Causes of delayed consultation for infertility among women attending public referral hospitals of Kigali

Abstract

Background Delay to consult for infertility leads to lower chances of getting pregnant. This study was aimed to identify the causes of delay to seek for medical attention for infertility among Rwandan women attending the University Teaching Hospitals of Kigali. Methods We have conducted a cross-sectional study, data were collected for a period of three months on patients consulting outpatient at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) and Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH) selected by simple random sampling. Delay to consult was defined as consulting for infertility at least six months after meeting WHO definition. Multivariable models were used to examine the factors of delay to consult. Results The prevalence of women consulting for infertility was 20.5%. Two third of participants had delayed to consult for infertility. Factors associated with delay to consult were: advanced maternal age (OR: 2.177, 95%CI:1.245-3.806, p=0.006), having primary education (OR: 2.31, 95%CI: 1.06-5.034, p=0.035), having no occupation (OR: 3.115, 95%CI: 1.182-8.209, p=0.022). Farmers and women owning a business were also more likely to have delayed consultation (OR: (2.889, 95%CI: 1.113-7.496, p=0.029 and OR: 2.687, 95%CI: 1.08-6.686, p=0.034 respectively). Women who had an unintended pregnancy on most recent pregnancy had higher odds of delaying to consult when infertility emerges (OR: 3.317, 95%CI: 1.247-8.826, p=0.013), similar to women for whom the pregnancy resulted into a live birth (OR: 3.649, 95%CI: 1.53-8.704, p=0.003). Conclusion Infertility services with special consideration for women with advanced maternal age and women with lower educational level is needed (These groups have a delayed utilization of healthcare services. Again, health education to couple is needed to explain to the community about their right to use existing healthcare services