Past reproductive and sexual characteristics of women with tubal infertility

Abstract

Past reproductive and sexual characteristics of patients with tubal sterility (cases) and currently fertile women (control group) were studied. The ages at first coitus and the number of sexual partners were significantly more (p less than 0.01) in the cases than in the controls. Most cases (56.0%) had only primary school education whereas most of the controls (68.7%) had secondary school education. Nearly 70% of the cases had had the first sexual intercourse by 16 years compared with about 40% in the controls. Pre-menarcheal sexual intercourse occurred in 1/4 of the cases compared with less than 1/10 in the controls (p less than 0.001). Of those with secondary infertility; 33.3% had had the first pregnancy by the age of 16 years compared with 12.0% in the controls (p less than 0.001); and in 83.3% of the cases, the first pregnancy was not by the current husband compared with 26.0% in the controls (p less than 0.001). In addition, the cases had more abortions before marriage (p less than 0.001), more induced abortions (p less than 0.001) and had medically diagnosed sexually transmitted diseases more often (p less than 0.01). It is concluded that the reproductive and sexual events that occur during the teen-age determine the future prospects of fertility. Intensification of educational programs by the government and all relevant organisations, with emphasis on the relationship between sexual behaviour during adolescence and future reproductive problems, is strongly recommended.