Traditional Practices Used By Infertile Couples In The City With The Highest Fertility Rate In Turkey

Abstract

Background: Infertility has cultural, religious, and class factors and may negatively affect the lives of couples. The eastern regions of Turkey retain their traditional culture; thus, having children is of great importance in eastern culture. Due to this culture, couples living in these regions are under a lot of pressure to have children. Şanlıurfa is located in this region and has the highest fertility rate in Turkey. Couples here, especially women, thus experience severe negative consequences of infertility. Couples have sought solutions for infertility to maintain their lineage and avoid negative situations for hundreds of years. The methods that infertile couples use should be determined and suitable interventions should be made after identifying the harmful ones. Objective: This study aimed to determine the traditional fertility practices used by infertile couples living in Şanlıurfa, the factors that affect their usage, and their negative effects. Methods: The sample of this descriptive study comprised 244 infertile women who had been treated by an infertility polyclinic. Data related to the use of this practice by men were obtained from their partners. Results and Conclusions: The study found that traditional practices are common among infertile couples and that these practices are mostly used by women. The educational level of couples, language, socioeconomic status, secondary infertility, and previous unsuccessful medical treatment are the most important factors affecting the use of traditional practices. The preferred methods are generally spiritual, so few physical problems are encountered due to the use of traditional practices. However, the fact that almost half of the women in the sample used traditional practices at least three times means that they maintain this behavior, becoming open to various risks in doing so.