The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Infertile Women Presenting at The Infertility Outpatient Clinic

Abstract

Objectives: The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is common among infertile women. Many studies in Türkiye and throughout the world have shown that infertile women use CAM methods at high rates to increase the chance of conception. This study aimed to determine the status and characteristics of infertile women using CAM. Method: The study was planned as a cross-sectional study. Infertile women who presented at the Infertility Outpatient Clinic were included in the study. The women were questioned in respect of sociodemographic characteristics, medical characteristics related to infertility, CAM use status and types and frequency of CAM use. Results: Evaluations were made of 311 infertile women, of which 65.3% (n=203) used CAM. Herbal methods were the most frequently used CAM method (26.3%), and the most used herbal product was onion water. A statistically significant relationship was found between CAM use and the duration of marriage, occupation, education level, history of IUI and IVF, belief in the benefits of CAM methods and recommendation status (p<0.005 for all values). A positive correlation was found between the duration of CAM use and age, duration of marriage, duration of desire to have children, duration of infertility treatment, and the number of IUI and IVF attempts. Curiosity was the most common reason for CAM usage. It was determined that 46.9% of the participants who used CAM did not use it regularly, 66.5% did not believe that it would be beneficial, and 88.6% were directed to CAM usage by family or friends. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that infertile women used CAM at a high rate and the most commonly used method was herbal products. Infertile women should be evaluated in a multidimensional way with detailed questioning of any CAM methods used.

Keywords

• Infertility
• complementary and alternative medicine
• woman

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