Measuring time to pregnancy among Sri Lankan women: a feasibility study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Time to pregnancy (TTP) is the interval from the time of planning a pregnancy to the time of conception. It is widely used in other countries as a measuring tool of factors influencing fecundity, it is also useful in making rational decisions regarding the timing of investigating/treating couples seeking treatment for sub fertility. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of measuring TTP and to determine the average TTP in a consecutive group of Sri Lankan, women. METHOD: Women who delivered at the university obstetric unit, Ragama between 14/08/2003 and 21/11/2003 were recruited. Pregnancies where the woman was able to recall the date or month they decided to become pregnant were used in the analysis. Survival analysis methods were used to identify factors influencing TTP. RESULTS: Data from 650 planned pregnancies was analyzed. The mean (SD) age of the women and their partners were 28.2 (5.4) and 31.5 (5.5) years respectively. The percentages of first, second and third or higher pregnancies were 61, 32 and seven percent respectively. At the end of 3, 6, 12 and 24 months 56, 71, 84 and 94 percent of women had become pregnant. Of the variables - ages of the couple, parity, educational levels of the couple, level of income and coital frequency - only age of the woman had a significant association with TTP. The median TTP of women aged <24, 25-34, >35 years were 2, 3, and 6 months respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results show that measurement of TTP among Sri Lankan women is feasible and 80% of women conceive within one year of planning for a pregnancy, which is comparable with published data.