Impact of Body Mass Index on Fertility of Married Women of Coimbatore District

Abstract

ertility is the capacity to produce offspring, whereas fecundity is a woman's biological ability to reproduce based on the monthly probability of conception (Wood, 1989). Clinical infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after 12 months of coitus. It has been estimated that approximately 15% of the population in industrially developed countries are affected by infertility. (Healy et al., 1994). Fertility is a universal human concern and anguish over infertility is an obvious consequence of that concern. Millions of people all over the world are confronted with the problem of people all over the world are confronted with the problem of infertility. Infertility is a product of biological and environmental factors. The revised definition of infertility by the World Health Organization characteristics primary infertility as the percentage of never-pregnant women exposed to the risk of pregnancy for at least two years without conceiving. It characterizes secondary infertility as a situation in which a couple has previously conceived, but is unable to conceive subsequently, despite cohabitation and exposure to pregnancy for a period of two or more years (UNFPA, 2002). The causes of infertility are wide ranging including diagnoses such as, ovulatory disorders, tubal disease, endometriosis, chromosomal abnormalities, sperm factors and unexplained infertility. The impact of lifestyle on reproductive performance may vary depending on individual etiology and circumstances.