Women have been cautioned against self-medicating whenever they experience lower abdominal pain as it leads to infections going undiscovered causing infertility.
Dr. Joseph Mukasa, the acting clinical doctor at Independent Hospital in Gulu city says Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is often ignored by women despite contributing to infertility.
PID is an infection of the upper female reproductive organs which include the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries.
Symptoms include lower abdominal pain, abnormal discharges, fever, and pain during sex, though many experience no symptoms.
It’s often caused by untreated sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia or gonorrhea.
Dr Mukasa says that infertility contributes to domestic violence, family misunderstandings and suicide.
He explains that the hospital which registers about three cases of infertility in women every week, refers women to Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital for assisted conception also known as Invitro fertilization (IVF) after assessment.
IVF is a costly process demanding from 19 to 25 million shillings.
Justine Muboka
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