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Fertility assistance program following the Sichuan earthquake in China
Author(s) -
Qin Lang,
Luo Shan,
Li Xiaohong,
Wang Yan,
Li Shangwei
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.12.002
Subject(s) - fertility , medicine , china , service (business) , intervention (counseling) , family medicine , demography , environmental health , nursing , population , geography , sociology , archaeology , economy , economics
On May 12, 2008 an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Wenchuan in Sichuan province, a mountainous region in western China, and rendered many parents childless. Doctors from the Women's Fertility Program of the Second West China Hospital in Sichuan carried out a post earthquake fertility assistance program in the following 3 months. The program included 3 parts: sociomedical fertility health support; psychological counseling and intervention in reproductive health; and an assisted reproductive technology (ART) service. Couples whose children had died or were disabled in the earthquake were entitled to free fertility counseling and ART, if required. Some women are currently pregnant as a result of the program, which has been successful in helping some surviving couples achieve their reproductive desires.