Infertility and self-rated health among Malawian women

Infertility is prevalent and stigmatized in sub-Saharan Africa. Self-rated health, a subjective indicator that has been consistently related to objectively measured health, may be useful in evaluating the relationship between women’s infertility and health. Data were from surveys conducted from July 2014 to January 2015 with women aged 15–39 years (n = 915) as part of the initial assessment in a cohort study in Lilongwe district, Malawi. We first assessed correlates of self-reported infertility among women in rural Malawi. We then used multiple logistic regression to examine associations between infertility and self-rated health. Of women surveyed, 20 percent had a history of infertility. Compared to women who had not experienced infertility, women with a history of infertility were older (p = 0.05), less educated (p = 0.01), and more likely to report depressive symptoms (p = 0.02) and forced first intercourse (p = 0.02) and to have been previously diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (p = 0.05). However, women with a history of infertility were not significantly more likely to report poor self-rated health (adjusted odds ratio: 1.69; 95 percent confidence interval: 0.70–4.07). Infertility was prevalent in our sample of Malawian women but was not significantly related to self-rated health, an instrument widely used in public-health research.