Clinic to help infertile couples

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Like most married couples, Pedro and Aurelia are eager for the presence of a child in their family.

For six years of marriage, the couple has tried every possible medication and treatment to have a child of their own.

They have gone to every obstetrician/gynecologist (obgyn) recommended by family and friends, but all of the doctors told them the same thing -- they are both healthy and nothing is wrong with either Pedro's sperm or Aurelia's reproductive health.

Yet, the child they have been dreaming of since they were married has not come.

Pedro and Aurelia are not the only couple facing difficulty in having a child of their own.

Another couple, who was declared healthy by their obgyn, opted to adopt a child after unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant.

Desperate as they are, both Pedro and Aurelia, and the other couple, may see a light at the end of the tunnel at an infertility clinic that recently opened in Jakarta.

True to its name, the Jakarta Women's and Children Clinic (JWCC) offers various treatments for children and women with fertility problems.

JWCC founder Finna Huang said in a recent interview that the purpose of the clinic was to provide the best health care possible for women and children in the country.

"We know that there are a lot of couples with fertility problems flying to Singapore for medication and to undergo treatment. This clinic is here so that they no longer have to fly to Singapore and spend weeks there, as the same treatment and medication are offered here in the country," said Finna.

To ensure the clinic provides the best quality health care, she said, it has formed an affiliation with the National University Hospital (NUH) in Singapore.

P.C. Wong of NUH said that with the opening of the clinic, couples with fertility problems who opted for in-vitro- fertilization (IVF) would only have to stay for a week in Singapore, for the final procedure, which is still not available in Indonesia.

"It will save them a lot in terms of costs, as previously they had to spend four weeks in Singapore. Now they can do the first three weeks here and continue the last in Singapore," said Wong.

Wong said that of all of the Indonesian patients who had come to him for fertility treatment, the success rate (couples who became pregnant) was 38 percent.

The is no official data on infertility rates in the country.

According to Wong, endometriosis was the main cause of infertility among women, while low-sperm count was number one for men.

For poor couples with fertility problems, Finna said the clinic's management was committed to providing them with help.

With five pediatricians and five gynecologists, the outpatient clinic provides health services, from counseling and laboratory testing to medication and treatment.

Located on Jl. Prapanca Raya, South Jakarta, the clinic also provides various courses such as antenatal classes, baby care classes, first aid training and prenatal yoga.