{"id":176426589,"date":"2013-10-15T00:50:02","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T05:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/?p=176426589"},"modified":"2013-10-15T00:50:02","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T05:50:02","slug":"south-africa-dealing-with-infertility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/2013\/10\/15\/south-africa-dealing-with-infertility\/","title":{"rendered":"SOUTH AFRICA: Dealing With Infertility"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>August 28, 2013<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<header>\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Family Planning Series Video: <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beauty&#8217;s Children<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div>\n<article>\n<figure>\n<div id=\"file-54914\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/story_main\/public\/migration\/PriMigrationsDamanticWordpressAttachmentsImagesMigration\/www.theworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beauty_carousel.jpg?itok=Md0spyAH\" width=\"864\" height=\"487\" \/><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><br \/>\nBeauty Sqalane lives outside Cape Town, South Africa. When she learned she could not get pregnant, she was devastated. Then she found a way to bring children into her life. This video is part of a series on family planning in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"file-55210\">\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: large;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/73142239\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beauty&#8217;s Children<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n<div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/73142239\" height=\"340\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p>&gt;via:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/stories\/2013-08-28\/family-planning-series-video-beautys-children\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">http:\/\/pri.org\/stories\/2013-08-28\/family-planning-series-video-beautys-children<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: large;\">__________________________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<header>\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: small;\">August 29, 2013<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: xx-large;\"><strong>Part III: Infertile in a Land of Kids<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/programs\/the-world\">\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Reporter\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/people\/anders-kelto\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Anders Kelto<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div>\n<article>\n<figure>\n<div id=\"file-54336\">\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/story_main\/public\/migration\/PriMigrationsVivvoFilesImagesMigration\/pri.org\/files\/IMG_3760_694722171.jpg?itok=zsb2EEkr\" width=\"864\" height=\"487\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Children play in a low-income township near Somerset West, 30 miles east of Cape Town. (Photo by Anders Kelto.)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This story is part of a special series,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pri.org\/series\/family-choices\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Family Choices: Fertility and Infertility in Africa<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">In a dusty township thirty miles outside of Cape Town, South Africa, kids seem to be everywhere. Children play inside a large, wooden crate along the side of the road. Two boys chase each other nearby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Just up the street, inside a small, cement home, things are much quieter. A 31 year-old woman chops onions in the kitchen, while her husband relaxes on the couch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Thembi and Lloyd (not their real names) say that when they got married a few years ago, they immediately started trying to have kids. \u201cIn [Xhosa] culture, when you are married, you must have children,\u201d says Thembi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">But she and Lloyd didn\u2019t have any luck. After more than two years of trying, they started to worry. They went to a doctor, who told Thembi she had blocked fallopian tubes and couldn\u2019t conceive naturally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">The couple briefly considered adopting, but they didn\u2019t think their families would approve. \u201cThey definitely won\u2019t be happy if you will come with an adopted child,\u201d says Lloyd. \u201cThat means that the family name has now stopped in that line.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">That left Thembi and Lloyd facing the possibility of a childless future \u2013 something that can be especially hard in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Africa-infertility-Infographic.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-176426592\" alt=\"Africa infertility -Infographic\" src=\"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Africa-infertility-Infographic.gif\" width=\"800\" height=\"720\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">\u201cInfertility is associated with a lot of suffering,\u201d says Silke Dyer, an obstetrician and a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Cape Town.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">African couples that don\u2019t have children are often scorned, she explains. At community meetings, they may not be given the respect accorded full adults. \u201cIf you\u2019re there and you want to raise your opinion, they will say, \u2018Sit, sit down, you do not have children \u2013 you cannot talk,\u2019\u201d Dyer says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Many infertile women in Africa are abused or abandoned by their husbands, Dyer adds, and they often end up destitute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">In the US and Europe, couples that cannot conceive will often spend thousands of dollars on fertility treatment, such as in vitro fertilization. IVF is available in some parts of Africa, at private clinics \u2013 but the cost is far beyond the reach of most African couples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Dyer and her colleagues run a public clinic at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town that makes IVF affordable. One of very few clinics of its kind in Africa, it keeps costs down by using a relatively inexpensive combination of drugs. The South African government also provides subsidies. About 250 couples receive IVF treatment each year, and roughly a third end up pregnant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Financial Sacrifices<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Thembi and Lloyd \u2013 the couple that was unable to conceive \u2013 heard about the IVF clinic from their doctor. At first, they were skeptical. \u201cWe heard it\u2019s for white people, not for us,\u201d Thembi says. But after visiting the clinic, they decided to give it a try.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">The procedure cost a fraction of what it would elsewhere, but for Thembi and Lloyd it was still tough to afford. The first attempt cost the equivalent of 300 US dollars \u2013 about as much as they make in a month. It failed. They tried again. It failed, too. Their doctor then recommended a slightly different IVF procedure, which cost about 800 dollars. That really put a strain on them financially.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">\u201cNow we have to buy just rice and meat, because every [dollar] that we have, we have to save for this [procedure],\u201d Thembi says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">And it wasn\u2019t just the cost of the treatment that was making their lives difficult. Thembi and Lloyd were also keeping their actions a secret. Lloyd says he could not tell anyone in his family what they were doing. \u201cTo them it would look like an insult and we are doing things the Western way,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">The day before Thembi and Lloyd found out if the third IVF attempt had worked, I spoke to them. \u201cI\u2019m not expecting any good result for tomorrow,\u201d Thembi said, then added: \u201cI\u2019m praying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Fortunate Few<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">After that conversation, weeks went by, and I didn\u2019t hear from Thembi and Lloyd. I tried calling them, but they didn\u2019t get back to me. I started wondering what had happened. Then, finally, they returned my calls and said I could stop by.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">When I arrived at their house, Thembi was curled up on the couch with a blanket, watching TV. Lloyd sat beside her, a small heater by his feet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">I asked Thembi the difficult question. What had happened at the clinic? Did the doctors say she was pregnant?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">She laughed.\u201cI\u2019m nine weeks, six days,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m always counting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Lloyd chimed in: \u201cI feel good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Thembi and Lloyd know they are incredibly fortunate. The vast majority of infertile couples in Africa do not have access to treatment, and those who do are often unsuccessful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Silke Dyer, the director of the IVF clinic in Cape Town, does not expect IVF facilities to start springing up around Africa. She says most doctors and governments are more focused on bringing birth rates down \u2013 not up \u2013 and on confronting more pressing health issues, like HIV and malaria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">But Dyer says when it comes to family planning in Africa, the goal shouldn\u2019t just be to help couples have fewer children. Remember, she says, some couples need help having more.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<figure><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" draggable=\"true\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/gallery_image\/public\/migration\/PriMigrationsDamanticWordpressAttachmentsImagesMigration\/www.theworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Silke-114_2_crop.jpeg?itok=RdCvm2EB\" width=\"511\" height=\"409\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><figcaption><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dr. Silke Dyer runs at public IVF clinic. (Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" draggable=\"true\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/gallery_image\/public\/migration\/PriMigrationsDamanticWordpressAttachmentsImagesMigration\/www.theworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2246.jpg?itok=zJSTLddy\" width=\"684\" height=\"409\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><figcaption><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Computer imaging of an egg cell. (Photo: Anders Kelto)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&gt;via:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pri.org\/stories\/2013-08-29\/part-iii-infertile-land-kids\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/pri.org\/stories\/2013-08-29\/part-iii-infertile-land-kids<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 28, 2013 &nbsp; Family Planning Series Video: Beauty&#8217;s Children &nbsp; Beauty Sqalane lives outside Cape Town, South Africa. When she learned she could not get pregnant, she was devastated. Then she found a way to bring children into her life. This video is part of a series on family planning in Africa. Beauty&#8217;s Children [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[6],"tags":[4,12,11],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176426589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176426589"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176426589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176426625,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176426589\/revisions\/176426625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176426589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176426589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176426589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}