How does infertility affect relationships

NICHD has further elaborated the reasons and sheds light on them. Later we have also discussed how female and male fertility diet plan along with few more steps you can cure infertility.

It is not easy to deal with infertility, and nearly all of the patients suffer from severe psychological trauma. It is nearly impossible to describe the emotional stress one goes through because it not only impacts the mind and body but also affects relationships to a great extent.

Fear of loss, shame, anxiety, coping with social stigma, and loss of interest on anything completely shatter the patients and the couples.

Though the responses of individuals are varying to a great extent, negative impact has been found to be more prevalent. In addition to all these, patients suffering from infertility feel rejected by the society because it is related to social taboos and stigma.

One feels that they lose their respect and dignity in the society and therefore, avoids public interaction, stepping out. Taking it further, the problem can also hamper relationships among family members and friends.

Infertility is not the ultimate answer to your woes. Thanks to the advancement f the medical science, treatment of infertility is available and largely opted by the couples. Now that you know the reasons mentioned above, all you need to do is visit a medical practitioner and seek help. After evaluation, if the doctor prescribes a particular treatment, the couples may go ahead and follow the procedures to enjoy a successful parenthood.

The results also showed that one of the major causes of psychological distress is the social pressure by community members. According to the results, while the medical discourse of infertility is dominant, its mental-emotional, socio-cultural and political aspects are still neglected in Iran. As infertility is more common among people from the low social classes who do not have the ability to afford psychological counseling costs and social determinants play an important role in creating the psychological consequences of infertility, this study suggests that having professional trained social workers as complementary medical interventions in the infertility clinics is central to manage the issue of infertility in all aspects.

This profession assistance not only meets the needs of infertile people but also the needs of the social system in which infertile people are living. In this view, social workers can support the rights and needs of infertile people as a means to development planning by policy-makers so that the infertility can be looked upon as a biopsychic social phenomenon. The researchers recognize the necessity of selecting their case studies from women with different socio-economic levels since it is an influential parameter on the complications following the treatment.

The researchers tried to partially overcome this limitation with adding some cases to the study by picking women who use public clinics but they are from higher income families.

The recruited participants included women who had volunteered to participate in the study that, compared with non-volunteered infertile women, may have less psychological consequences. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all infertile women who participated in the study for generously giving their time and energy in helping to complete the qualitative interviews. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.

Iran J Reprod Med. Seyede Batool Hasanpoor-Azghdy , Ph. Candidate, Masoumeh Simbar , Ph. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Copyright notice. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Abstract Background: Infertility is a major life event that brings about social and psychological problems. Introduction Infertility is a life crisis with a wide range of socio-cultural, emotional, physical and financial problems 1 , 2. Materials and methods To explain experiences of Iranian infertile women seeking treatment from psychological-emotional consequences of the infertility, Naturalism paradigm with qualitative research approach was taken Results A total of 25 women with a history of primary and secondary infertility with no surviving children were interviewed.

Table I The personal characteristics of the participants in this study. Open in a separate window. Table II The main themes and sub- themes in this study. The main themes Sub-themes Cognitive reactions of infertility Mental engagement; psychological turmoil Cognitive reactions to therapy process Psychological turmoil; being difficult to control in some situations; reduced self-esteem; feelings of failure Emotional-affective reactions of infertility Fear, anxiety and worry; loneliness and guilt; grief and depression; regret Emotional-affective reactions to therapy process Fear, anxiety and worry; fatigue and helplessness; grief and depression; hopelessness.

Discussion Reproduction in the Eastern cultures is one of the highest values and when the childbearing seems impossible, probable psychological crisis sets in Conclusion This study showed that the infertility and its treatment process for Iranian infertile women is a source of psychological suffering with devastating effects on psychological well-being of infertile couples.

Research limitations The researchers recognize the necessity of selecting their case studies from women with different socio-economic levels since it is an influential parameter on the complications following the treatment.

Acknowledgments We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all infertile women who participated in the study for generously giving their time and energy in helping to complete the qualitative interviews.

Conflict of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest. References 1. The relationship between perceived stigma, disclosure patterns, support and distress in new attendees at an infertility clinic. Hum Reprod. The experience of infertility: A review of recent literature. Sociol Health Illn. Prevalence of primary infertility in the Islamic Republic of Iran in Asia Pac J Public Health.

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Survey in the South of Vietnam. J Transl Med. Latifnejad R. How religious faiths and spiritual beliefs affect the experiences of infertile women seeking infertility treatments: A feminist grounded theory approach. Guildford: University of Surrey; Doctoral Dissertation. Why do patients discontinue fertility treatment? A systematic review of reasons and predictors of discontinuation in fertility treatment.

Wischmann T. Psychosocial aspects of infertile couples. Psychosocial Gynakol Geburts med Gynakol Endokrinol. Domar AD, Gordon K. Both men and women are affected by infertility in many ways. Basically, women are the emotional caretaker and providers of the relationship. In most cases, it is seen that women feel she is responsible for anything bad happens or if their family is suffering from anything bad.

This is the reason they feel extra emotional and this takes a toll on their relationship. Women in an infertile couple take the blame on themselves and protect their husbands. While it is seen that men usually accompany their wives to the appointment and they get concerned about different issues like cost of treatment , the time it will take, etc. However, these things are very important and relevant also. They serve the purpose of protecting the husbands in the conception process.

Men are responsible for protecting the family from any bad situation and they are the financial provider of the relationship. They usually do not express what they feel about the issue.