Infertility amongst Asaro Valley women
Collins, A.M.
Papua and new Guinea Medical Journal 31(4): 253-256
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0031-1480 PMID: 3269691 Document Number: 324479
Fertility histories were collected from all residents of two villages, Masilakaiufpa and Geleha, near Goroka, Papua New Guinea. Of the 79 women aged 35 years or more, 17 had never had a child, although this was admitted to by only 6 of them. Amongst the 50 parous women aged 40 years or more, the year of birth of the last-born child was known for 48 women. The mean age of these mothers at the time of birth of their last child was only 32.8 years. No woman in the community aged between 35 and 39 years had given birth to a child in the previous 5 years and while only 3 of 34 women aged 25-34 years had never had a child, 12 of the parous women had had no children in the previous 5 years. This suggests that the early onset of permanent sterility, which characterizes the older generation, continues today amongst younger women.