No, say doctors, apropos a childless American couple, their conception was less a miracle than relief from mental stress 17 April, 2009 – Drawn by the belief in Chimi lhakhang’s supernatural power to cure infertility, an American couple visited Bhutan recently. On their way back, they stopped by the national referral hospital for an ultrasound check up and, to their surprise, found that she was pregnant even before they reached Bhutan.

While the belief in Chimi lhakhang is still strong, doctors say that it was not a miracle but mental stress that could have prevented her from conceiving.

“The idea of coming to Bhutan must have removed the stress of trying to have a baby and so she was able to conceive,” said gynaecologist Dr Ugyen Tshomo, who related the couple’s story.

Infertility is common in Bhutan and stress is one of the main reasons for the condition in both men and women, said Dr Ugyen Tshomo. A couple is infertile if unable to conceive after one year of uninterrupted intimacy without using family planning methods. At least six infertility cases are reported at the Thimphu referral hospital everyday, according to doctors.

Meanwhile, women are mostly blamed for not being able to conceive but Dr Ugyen said that it was not an individual but a couple’s problem. “It’s fifty-fifty and men can be infertile too.”

A women’s age is an important factor in determining her fertility. The older a woman, the less her chances of conceiving. Women are most fertile between 20 to 25 years. “After 30, the chances of getting pregnant decreases because the ovaries start growing old,” said Dr Ugyen Tshomo.

The shape of the uterus and problems along the pathway for fertilisation either due to infection after delivery, miscarriage, or sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the past can also cause infertility in women. “Another factor is the mucus in the cervix, which has antibodies against the sperm and kill them.”

Infertility in men means not being able to produce enough sperm. According to WHO, the standard sperm count in one millilitre of semen should be more than 20 million.

Besides stress, said Dr Ugyen Thsomo, low sperm count could result from drug addiction and excessive alcoholism. In some cases, men, who might have had mumps after puberty, also causes low sperm count.

Other reasons include undescended testes, block due to an accident or operation or STI in the past. Men wearing tight underpants could also become infertile.

Treatment facility for infertility is limited in Bhutan. There is a need to make people aware and, because age is an important factor, the sooner they visit the hospital the better, say doctors.

Of the two types of infertility, primary and secondary, the latter is more common in developing countries. “That’s because we have women who’ve miscarried, got infection and don’t come to hospital and also because of home deliveries,” said Dr Ugyen Tshomo. Primary infertility occurs when a couple has never had a child. Source: Kuenselonline