Health Seeking Behaviour of Women with Infertility in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

Children are highly valued in the African culture. As a result, women with infertility experience devastating suffering. Women are often left alone to go through the burden and complex decision making process of health seeking because it is seen as a woman’s problem. The main aim of the study is to explore the health seeking behaviour of women with infertility in Sokoto State Nigeria. Explorative descriptive design which is a qualitative approach was employed. Ethical clearance and administrative approval was received. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit fourteen consented participants who were interviewed using semi structured interview guide. The study findings revealed that the women that sought for help to conceive were married, educated young elderly women. The women were able to identify infertility because they paid attention to their duration of marriage and unproductive sexual intercourse, years of last childbirth and repeated miscarriages. Regardless of the women’s financial status and social support (advice, prayer, emotional financial) from significant individuals, the women were committed to seeking for medical help to conceive. The women believed that infertility is caused by biological and supernatural components. As a result, the women sought for help to conceive at both medical and faith-based outlets. The women did early and late medical seeking. They also patronised multiple health institutions starting with the private clinics for privacy. However, the women were psychologically traumatised due to social pressure (neglect by husbands, blame, humiliation and stigma) and the ordeal of infertility. Additionally, the women found infertility treatment to be expensive. It is recommended that government and relevant agencies should assist in ensuring treatment is subsidised and empower women to improve access to fertility related treatment.