Quality of life among infertile women living in a paradox of concerns and dealing strategies: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim The current work investigated the issues that cause apprehension in infertile women, the effects of this disquiet on their quality of life and the strategies that they adopt in dealing with their concerns. Design The qualitative research. Method This qualitative research sampled participants from a training centre in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and a privately owned infertility centre in Mazandaran Province, north of Iran. Purposive sampling continued until data saturation was reached. We conducted a conventional content analysis of the responses of 30 individuals (15 women with female infertility and 15 key informants) to in‐depth and semi‐structured in‐person interviews on May to November 2019 . Results The results uncovered two themes subsuming four categories of issues: The first theme revolves around “infertility concerns,” under which “concerns” and “the difficulty and vagueness of treatment” belonged. The second theme was “dealing with infertility,” which covered “adaptive strategies” and “inhibitors of reconciliation with perceived infertility.”

Perception of family sense of coherence among Chinese couples with infertility

“…Another adaptive strategy used by the infertile couples in this study, in particular those with religious faith, was to avoid negative thoughts and modify their attitudes by adopting a more positive mindset, which helped them understand and accept their condition. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, religious couples had adaptive belief systems that helped facilitate a positive interpretation and acceptance of their infertility, thus alleviating infertility-related stress (Grinstein-Cohen et al, 2016;Kiani et al, 2021;Tiu et al, 2018).…”

“…The majority of couples in this study experienced psychological distress while making cognitive sense of infertility. They felt a strong sense of loss and helplessness due to the unpredictable situation of infertility and the treatment process, which are the most often cited negative impacts of infertility in previous studies (Kiani et al, 2021;Palmer-Wackerly & Krieger, 2015;Tiu et al, 2018).…”

Investigating different dimensions of infertile women’s quality of life: a descriptive cross-sectional study

“…It has also been argued in some studies that the concept of infertility and the social relations of infertile people change over time. Additionally, the hopes of infertility treatment have caused the social relations of many infertile people to not change much after infertility [ 5 ].…”

“…Infertility causes women to experience changes in various aspects of their lives and leads to emotional, psychological, and social disorders. Moreover, there is a conflict between worries and coping strategies in infertile women that can affect their quality of life [ 5 ]. Infertile women experience different personal, family, and social problems.…”

“…A review of studies in many parts of the world showed that women carry the main burden of infertility and have to tolerate a great deal of anxiety as they are blamed for their inability to childbearing [ 6 ]. Infertile women face the high costs of infertility treatments, frequent doctor visits, and scheduled sexual intercourse that affect their quality of life [ 5 ]. Given the fact that pregnancy is one of the most important goals of women, infertility can instill a sense of lack and deficiency in infertile women [ 7 ].…”