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Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology ( Icmart )

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INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND

The world has witnessed a marked increase in patients presenting to infertility clinics in the past three decades.1 Nigeria lies within the infertility belt where prevalence of infertility is at the highest.2 Infertility has been found to be the leading reason for gynaecological consultations (accounting for about 60%) with a prevalence of about 15% in Nigeria.3 According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART), infertility is defined clinically as a disease of the reproductive system characterized by a failure to achieve successful pregnancy after twelve months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.4

Reproduction either in vivo or in vitro is dependent on the presence of viable gametes (sperm and ovum), a successful sperm to ovum interaction; fertilization and an effective implantation of the fertilized ovum onto the endometrial wall of the uterus.3 In a study carried out in south western Nigeria, the common causes of infertility were: tubal factor (39.5%), uterine factor (30%), and ovarian factor (13%).5 Other causes included cervical factor (3%), pelvic inflammatory disease PID (5.5%), and endometriosis (2.5%).5

In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment offers the highest pregnancy rate irrespective of the cause of infertility.6 The first successful IVF procedure was documented by Dr Edwards and Dr Steptoe in 1978, where ova and sperm were

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