Announcing Fertility Awareness Campaign in the Philippines

Merck Serono and the medical community would want to help women improve chances of conception through awareness programs about infertility & treatment options in the Philippines.  As such, Merck Serono, with the help of the community of fertility experts in the Philippines, has undertaken a campaign to raise awareness on infertility, called the Hope for Starting Families campaign.

o   Currently, 1 in 10 Filipino couples are suffering from infertility, according to a survey commissioned by Merck Serono and conducted by Synovate in 2011 among 100 households in the Philippines (GMA, Cebu, Davao) in the A, B and Upper C segments.

§  Infertility incidence breakdown in cities surveyed: GMA 10.7%, Cebu 3.8%, Davao 5%

§  7 out of 10 fertility cases consult with an OB or Fertility specialist about their condition. They are primarily motivated by their desire to have a baby and the need to treat the condition which prevents them from conceiving.

§  Respondents said that financial (86%), time constraints (27%), limited education (15%), fear or embarrassment of possible outcome (24%), & patient’s belief (17%) were the leading reasons why some fertility patients do not consult/seek treatment.

o   It was further discovered that majority of them have a low level of understanding of the causes of infertility and how this can be treated; and that patients seek websites, lay fora and other resources to aid in their research about infertility.

§  Sixty nine percent (69%) of the fertility patients are aware of Infertility treatment. Patients learned about it mainly from their consultations from their OB-Gyne. Some patients also learned about it from their family, relatives and peers, as well as from different media such as television and the Internet.

o   Through this campaign, Merck Serono has established a dedicated website at www.fertilityphilippines.com wherein Filipinos can learn more about infertility, its causes, and treatment. The first 100 people who subscribe to the website will receive a fertility planner from Merck.

o   Other efforts include a series of lay fora conducted by Merck Serono in select cities across the country, distribution of a fertility planner to patients, and workshops for OB-GYNs.

Source:

Joy Mauricio, Biotech Unit Head, Merck Serono Philippines  

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