Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), UK
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, No. 589
May 03, 2011
ARMENIA’S FERTILITY PROBLEMS WORRY OFFICIALS
The government, concerned by the demographic situation, approves
strategies for improving health of mothers and children as well as
reproductive health.
By Arpi Harutiunyan- Caucasus
One in five Armenian families are unable to have children, with
doctors saying women’s fertility has been damaged by stress and
abortions, while men are harmed by ill health.
The situation has improved from that in the 1990s, but experts worry
that the country’s demographic future could be threatened if more is
not done to reverse the dire trend.
`Although the results of past investigations (32 per cent of women
were infertile compared to 17 per cent now) significantly differ from
the current indicators, the level of infertility in Armenia continues
to be dangerous,’ said Karine Saribekyan, the head of the mother and
children’s department at the health ministry.
A report into the problem jointly produced by the United Nations, the
health ministry and other organisations said that `treatment is hard
to access in Armenia because of the high cost, the low level of
awareness among the population, and also its low effectiveness’.
Saribekyan blamed a range of conditions for the problem including
venereal diseases and hormonal problems, however experts said many of
the reasons could be traced back to the economic collapse and poverty
of the 1990s.
`People from the generation of the 1990s, who during the war [against
Azerbaijan] lived in conditions without electricity, in cold and with
constant stress, are now coming to us as potential mothers. It is
specifically these women who have problems with getting pregnant,’
Eduard Hambardzumyan, director of the Centre of Human Reproduction,
said.
Experts also blamed abortions for damage to women’s reproductive capabilities.
`Previously pre-marriage sexual relations did not exist, but you see
that now. As a result of those relations, accidental pregnancy is
common, and women try to end that with abortions, which can have
fateful consequences for them,’ said Karine Arustamyan, deputy
director of the Scientific-Research Institute of Obstetrics and
Gynecology in Yerevan.
According to studies conducted by the health ministry, the highest
levels of childless families are in Yerevan itself, and in the
Armavir, Ararat, Gegharkunik and Shirak regions. In Yerevan and
Gegharkunik, some 12 per cent of men are infertile, which experts link
to the high incidence of men from these regions travelling abroad to
earn money.
`Around 40 couples come to our clinic every month suffering from
reproductive problems. In 70 per cent of cases it turns out that the
man is the cause of their infertility,’ Christina Melikyan, a
gynecologist from the Shengavit medical centre, said.
Hambardzumyan said that male infertility was often caused by a poor
lifestyle: drinking too much, smoking, eating poor-quality and fatty
food and lack of exercise. Saribekyan also said that men were
reluctant to visit the doctor, and so were often unaware of the
problem.
`It has always been acceptable to blame women for infertility. Often
men divorce their wives after several years of marriage if they
haven’t had a child, then it turns out that it was they who were
infertile not their wives,’ she said.
If doctors cannot find a specific reason for infertility, they
describe it as of `unknown cause’. Some 8.2 per cent of Armenian men,
and 10.5 per cent of women fall into this category, and treating them
is often impossible.
`Often it is necessary to undergo treatment several times. And since
these procedures are very expensive, after a couple of rounds couples
often give up. Either they don’t have enough patience, or enough
money,’ Hambardzumyan said.
The government, concerned by the demographic situation in the country,
has approved strategies for improving mother’s and children’s health
as well as reproductive health. Currently, there are 3.2 million
people in Armenia, the population having fallen by around 50,000 since
1991. Last year, 44, 810 children were born in Armenia, which is one
percent more than in 2009.
The government has charged doctors with attempting to improve the
fertility situation, and they confirm that a lot needs doing if
Armenia is to return to Soviet levels when women on average had two or
three more children than they do today.
Doctors say that fertility treatment is expensive and unavailable to
the majority of Armenians, and even those who can afford it are not
guaranteed results.
Anahit and Karen Zorikyan, for example, have been trying to have a
child for four years. They have appealed to several specialists,
undergone courses of treatment, but without result. They do not even
know the reason for their infertility.
`We have spent several thousand dollars on analysis, on medicine, on
doctors and on treatment. Our only hope now is in-vitro fertilisation,
but that is too expensive here in Armenia,’ Anahit said.
In-vitro fertilisation costs around a million drams (2,700 US
dollars), which is out of reach of the vast majority of people in a
country where the average salary is 300 dollars. Using a surrogate
mother is even more unaffordable at 20-30,000 dollars.
Arpi Harutyunyan is a freelance reporter.
From: A. Papazian