The President of Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria(AMSN) and a consultant reproductive endocrinologist, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, has reaffirmed that people, especially women, who drive cars regularly barefooted or eat stock fish and other fish with a large presence of mercury in them regularly are at high risk of facing fertility problem when ready to conceive and have their own babies.
He also said bad eating habits, stress, excessive use of lipstics and exposure to chemical substances such as oils spills, pesticides and insecticides as well as smoking can also cause infertility in both men and women as applicable.
Ashiru gave this position on Friday at Sheraton Hotels in Lagos while delivering the 30th anniversary lecture of the Medical Art center, which he founded 30 years ago.
Prof. Ashiru’s team pioneered the In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment method in Sub-Sahara Africa, and he is the President of the Africa Reproductive Care Society and first black person globally to be elected as the Secretary-General of the International Federation of Fertility Societies(IFFS), a non-state global organisation on fertility.
According to him, many people engage in some day-to-day activities that unknown to them are capable of causing infertility for them.
Giving examples, he said, “Some women with high- heel shoes do remove their shoes and drive barefooted because they find the practice easier and if they do this regularly for a long time, they are proned to infertility.”
He said research and medical examinations had shown that many IVF patients have experienced miscarriages after going through IVF treatment because they had antimony in them that affected their embryo and antimony is toxic and gets into human body through the upper lining of car accelerator and brake pedal.
“So, it is until antimony is removed from such patients that getting pregnant or keeping a pregnancy can take place.
“Same goes for mercury which is present in large fishes and stockfish; fumigation, oil spillages, the use of lipstick and pesticides are also injurious to the health to the extent that they can lead to infertility.
“Even fumigation and pesticides can affect three generations in the sense that it can affect a woman, her pregnancy and the child to be born.
“Similarly, women also use a lot of lipstick, unknown to them that they carry a lot of toxins especially if they are cheaply made. Oil spills are also toxins to the sperm and eggs, it causes miscarriage or infertility.”
Ashiru pointed out that infertility can be traced to both men and women and therefore advised that people, especially who are in their reproductive ages and younger should do away with activities that can cause damage to their reproductive systems or shorten their lifespans.
Speaking on the theme of the lecture, “More Joy To Families Through Reproductive Assisted Technology,” Ashiru disclosed that no fewer than 2,500 babies are born in Nigeria on yearly basis through ART, especially IVF.
He explained that even though the assisted treatment may not work for all couples, who desire to have their own biological children due to already mentioned conditions including old age, the system has worked for so many couples with fertility challenges in the country.
He said the Medical Art Center alone has handled cases with over 3,000 babies born in 30 years of its operations through ART, adding that there are up to 170 fertility clinics with just about 20 of them duly registered across the country.
He noted that between 7,000 and 10,000 conception cycles are being carried out yearly by the IVF clinic registered members in the country and couples from many other African countries come to access IVF services in the country, with the development boosting Nigeria’s medical tourism.
While putting the success rate of infertility treatment at global level at 40 per cent, he pointed out that the Medical Art Center has recorded more than that figure of all the cases its handled since inception and that the evolvement of new technology will certainly push up the figure significantly at both the global level and at the centre before the next decade.
He emphasised that it would be better if education on reproductive system like this is part of the students’ syllabus even from the primary school level across Africa.
In their separate remarks at the event, Prof Emeritus Osato Giwa-Osagie, who partnered Prof Ashiru at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba, 45 years ago, to deliver the first baby through IVF treatment in West Africa as well as Dr Sonny Kuku, a co-founder of EKO Hospitals and others, extolled Ashiru’s virtues in the field of medicine and importantly assisted reproductive technology and education.
They said Ashiru is not only passionate about reproductive endocrinology field through which he had produced and mentored many IVF doctors but also about lifting Nigeria’s health sector generally to a greater height.
They congratulated him on his immense contribution to the medical field and the 30th anniversary of MART, urging him not to rest on his oars.
The high-point of the event was the presentation of awards to some of the staff of the center including the medical director, Dr Mojisola Aderommu, for their strong dedication and commitment to the vision of the center.
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