WHO fact sheet on infertility (definition of infertility), published in Global Reproductive Health (2021)
Babatunde Oluwaseun Ibitoye, Olumide Akadiri, Francisca O. Ibitoye, Olaleke Abraham Fasasi
Abstract
To the Editor, I have read the article entitled “WHO fact sheet on infertility” published in Global Reproductive Health (2021), this was initially published by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) Geneva: WHO 2018. This article has given a concise definition of infertility as “Infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.” This has been a helpful guide in the diagnosis, classification, treatment, and epidemiological survey of infertility all over the world. I will like to thank WHO for this definition and make some contribution based on my experience. The definition focused on the individual rather than the union between the couple or the 2 individual that is trying to reproduce or have a child. A couple can be infertile due to pathology in one of the 2 members or due to lack of compensation from other members of the union thus labeled infertile. However, each member may have a chance of having a pregnancy if he or she had unprotected intercourse with another individual for the specified time frame and such relationship will not be clinically presented as infertile. The definition of infertility would have been more encompassing if it is based on couple or union rather than considering individual entities. The individual involved should be labeled as “suspected infertile” as there is the possibility of pregnancy if he or she has unprotected intercourse over the time frame of a year with another individual. A critical look at this suggestion can change the orientation, psychology, management, and every other factor related to infertility.