Two-thirds of Hong Kong's women don't know what "infertility" is and how to overcome it, a Chinese University of Hong Kong survey says.

More than 500 women between the age of 24 and 40 (70 per cent of them married) were covered by the survey.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of every six couples in the world suffers from infertility. A couple is said to be infertile if the wife fails to conceive even after one year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse.

Hong Kong has the lowest birth rate in the world, according to UN figures released last month. Although about 30 per cent of the respondents said they'd seek medical help if faced with such a problem, they were not likely to continue the treatment for various reasons. And if they do so, it'll become harder for them to conceive even if they resume treatment later. That's because the chances of conceiving decrease with the advancement of age.

More than 60 per cent of the women said they'd seek medical help only after trying and failing to conceive for a year or two when the ideal time would be six months.

"The success of assisted reproduction decreases with age. After the age of 36, the rate of success is below 30 per cent," Hong Kong Society of Reproductive Medicine President Clement Ho said. And after a woman reaches the age of 43, the chance slims to as less as 5 per cent.

The main causes of infertility are a low sperm count, the hereditary factors of the man or ovulation disorder and tubal factors of the woman.

Medical help for infertile couples comes in various forms, from hormone pills to a test tube baby or embryo transfer, with costs ranging up to HK$60,000 for the most complicated treatment, Ho said.

People in Hong Kong lack knowledge about reproductive medicines, with most of them going to family doctors or obstetricians with their problems, he said. That is just a waste of time and effort.

He said people have a common misunderstanding the "more intercourse" they have, the "higher the chance" of conception. This is not true because the number of sperms could decrease with too much sex. Intercourse on alternate days of a woman's ovulation period was sufficient for her to conceive.

(HK Edition 11/17/2005 page2)