Infertility in Karachi: prevalence, health seeking behaviour and social consequences

Mehtab Karim, Aga Khan University
Neelofar Sami, Aga Khan University

In 2001, the People of Karachi Survey was conducted which drew a representative sample of about 4,500 ever married women in reproductive ages. Questions were asked about socioeconomic characteristics , complete pregnancy history, frequency of intercourse with husband, contraceptive use, whether it is appropriate to consult a health care provider for not having a child and in such cases who should be investigated for infertility (wife or husband). Those who were childless were further asked if they or their husband sought any treatment to have children any time after marriage. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part is based on the analysis of prevalence and correlates of infertility and health seeking behavior of infertile women living in Karachi city using the above mentioned household survey data. The second part deals specifically with women admitted in infertility clinics at five major hospitals in Karachi.