Reproductive morbidity among Iranian women; issues often inappropriately addressed in health seeking behaviors

Abstract

Background: Reproductive morbidity has a huge impact on the health and quality of life of women. We aimed to determine the prevalence of reproductive morbidities and the health seeking behavior of a nationally representative sample of Iranian urban women.

Methods: A sample of 1252 women, aged 18-45 years, was selected using the multi stage, stratified probability sampling procedure. Data were collected through interviews and physical, gynecological and ultrasonographic examinations.

Results: Reproductive tract infection (RTIs), pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and menstrual dysfunction were the three main groups of morbidities with a prevalence of 37.6%, 41.4% and 30.1%., respectively. Our study demonstrated that 35.1, 34.5 and 9.6 percent of women experienced one, two or these reproductive organ disorders mentioned, respectively, while 20.6 percent of participants had none of these disorders. Findings also showed that the majority of women who suffered from reproductive morbidities (on average two out of three) had not sought appropriate care for these except for infertility.

Conclusions: Reproductive health morbidities impose a large burden among Iranian women and have negative impact on their reproductive health and wellbeing.