Exploring the Experiences of Living with Infertility in Menopausal Women in Iran, A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: The qualitative studies are more effective in human experience than quantitative research. Do not have study focusing on the experience of menopausal infertile women who haven't experienced of motherhood in all their lives. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experience of infertility in menopausal women. Materials and Methods:In a phenomenological study, conducted 17 semistructured individual interviews in Ilam, west of Iran, in 2014. Study participants were selected purposively by using a snowball sampling technique. The participants met the inclusion criteria, including postmenopausal women with no history of pregnancy, at least one year after the start of menopause. All women with abnormal menopause such as menopausal induced by surgery, drugs or chemotherapy were excluded of study. Data analysis was carried out based the Colaizzi process for phenomenological data analysis in 8 steps, including; prepare the data, the meaning units, text encoding, revision of the text codes, categories based on similarity and proportion of classes, revision class and compare this data to ensure the reliability of the code, identification of themes reflecting the depth and comparison with other classes and report findings.Result: Through analysis six sub themes emerged, including: physical factors, psychological factors, beliefs and religion, social relationships, instability in life and strategies. These were encompassed in the core category of 'motherhood experience'. Conclusion:An identification experience of infertility is essential to develop appropriate consulting services. Due to the impact of various factors on the experience of infertile women, similar studies are recommended in different cultures.