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The fertility management experiences of Australian women with a non-communicable chronic disease: findings from the Understanding Fertility Management in Contemporary Australia survey

journal contribution
posted on 2018-06-01, 00:00 authored by Sara HoltonSara Holton, Aberaami Thananjeyan, Heather Rowe, Maggie Kirkman, Lynne Jordan, Kathleen McNamee, Christine Bayly, John McBain, Vikki Sinnott, Jane Fisher
Introduction Despite the considerable and increasing proportion of women of reproductive age with a chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) and the potential adverse implications of many NCDs for childbearing, little is known about the fertility management experiences of women with an NCD, including their contraceptive use, pregnancy experiences and outcomes, and reproductive health care utilisation. The aim of this study was to investigate the fertility management experiences of women with an NCD and draw comparisons with women without an NCD. Method A sample of 18-50 year-old women (n = 1543) was randomly recruited from the Australian electoral roll in 2013. Of these women, 172 women reported a physical, chronic non-communicable disease: diabetes, arthritis, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, thyroid disorders, and cystic fibrosis. Respondents completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. Factors associated with fertility management were identified in multivariable analyses. Results Women who reported having an NCD were significantly more likely than women who did not report an NCD to have ever been pregnant (75.9 vs. 67.5%, p = 0.034), have had an unintended pregnancy (33.47 vs. 25.5%, p = 0.026), and have had an abortion (20.3 vs. 14.2%, p = 0.044); they were less likely to consult a healthcare provider about fertility management (45.0 vs. 54.4%, p = 0.024). Similar proportions were using contraception (48.8 vs. 54.5%, p = 0.138). Conclusion The findings have implications for healthcare providers and women with an NCD and highlight the importance of addressing possible assumptions about the inability of women with an NCD to become pregnant, and ensuring women receive information about suitable methods of contraception and pre-pregnancy care.

History

Journal

Maternal and child health journal

Volume

22

Issue

6

Pagination

830 - 840

Publisher

Springer

Location

New York, N.Y.

ISSN

1092-7875

eISSN

1573-6628

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature