‘Pray harder’ or seek science? The paradox of Pacific infertility

A new study reveals the heartbreak of Pacific couples trying to have a baby and the impact of religious and traditional views when considering ways to conceive.

The research, done by experts from Otago and Victoria University, explored Pacific infertility and how deeply held beliefs can clash with exploring other reproductive options, such as IVF or surrogacy.

One of the research authors, Otago University’s Edmond Fehoko, said it’s a deeply personal and complex issue.

“A lot of our Pacific, Sāmoan couples, particularly our females, were telling their male partners, ‘Go find someone who can give you a child’.

“Our Sāmoan participants shared the importance of passing down land and titles and cultural entitlements to their eldest son, and yet a lot of these Pacific couples did not have sons or daughters.”

Fehoko said infertility can seriously affect mental health, and well-meaning comments can be harmful.

“When someone gets married and there's a wedding taking place, the first question that a lot of our Pacific people and elders will ask is, ‘When are you going to have a child?’

“Many of our Pacific couples have separated or divorced as a result of not having a child, and that's pressure from external, particularly from family and cultural responsibilities.”

Sāmoan study participant Alani believed she was cursed because she and her partner had eloped without the family’s permission.

“It is something that haunted me for years. It could be the reason why I haven’t been blessed with a child. It could even be a curse as a result of not getting their blessing and me running away and getting married.

“Although I gained their blessing later in life, I believe it was too late because I had already hurt them earlier.”

Harmful beliefs

While Catholicism completely rules out assisted reproductive technology (ART), in other denominations, it’s a grey area.

Study participant Alisi said some family members suggested it was a ‘sin’ when she started the IVF process.

Photo/File

“My mother’s response was, ‘You guys just must pray harder, and if it’s God’s will, it will happen’.”

Another participant, Anahera, said she was reluctant to consider fertility options and had to find her own spiritual standpoint.

“I know some people in our community who believe that the doctors in IVF clinics are the ones who engineer or who made the baby through science and other chemical stuff. [They believe] the baby is engineered and it is not from God.”

Meanwhile, Adam struggled to shift his expectations around the traditional male role.

Photo/Aditya Romansa via Unsplash

“Personally, it was more of an ego issue for me … Somehow, my mind shifted, and I said to my wife that night that I was open to the idea of IVF. It was that frustrating feeling that I couldn’t do anything.”

Fehoko said today’s generation faced a clash of faith versus science, combined with traditional and cultural judgement.

“A lot of our elders will sit there and tell us ‘Pray hard, fast harder, and you will see a positive outcome’.

"At the same time, religion is seen as a barrier because the scientific methods within assisted reproductive technologies are not often seen as the preferred way to have a child.

Some couples struggle to meet expectations of when they might have a child. Photo/Garrett Jackson via Unsplash

“A lot of our young people are facing the conflict between scientific methods and also God's creation, and my argument is that if God made man, man made assisted reproductive technologies, anything under that is God related.”

It takes two

More than one in five Pacific women, or 22.2 per cent, have experienced infertility, compared to 12.6 per cent of European women. It’s 18.9 per cent for Pacific men, compared to 8 per cent.

Fehoko said there are many factors, including undiagnosed conditions.

“Some of the additional findings that we found in our study was endometriosis and also polycystic ovaries, particularly within our females and also the lifestyles that our Pacific males are having are contributing heavily to the infertility rates.

Dame Valerie Adams has openly shared her fertility journey. Photo/Women's Health Week

“A lot of our young people are becoming more career-focused and then establishing families later on in life, and then by then when it hits the prime age to have children and also raise a family, it becomes too late.”

Shot put champion Dame Valerie Adams told Women’s Health Week infertility is not talked about in some families.

“In the Polynesian culture, if you don't have a baby, it's like....your family's cursed, or you've done something wrong, or your parents have done something wrong.

“The case was that I was the issue because I had endometriosis and my mum also suffered along in this area and it's just a fact of life.”

The way forward

Fehoko said more understanding is needed from communities and church leaders regarding the opportunities of ART.

“We all know that children are blessings from God, and if that's the case, then science can actually support them.”