Marital Relationship and Quality of Life Among Couples with Infertility

Abstract

The study was conducted due to the fact that there is not enough data on the topic in Turkey, where having a child brings status to women, and the related literature includes no qualitative studies about the effects of infertility on marital relationship (MR) and Quality of Life (QoL). Qualitative research in which 16 people who received successful infertility treatment received in-depth interviews, and data collected retrospectively. Infertility has negative effects on MR and QoL. In the marital relation category, four themes emerged from the answers given: (1) Separation-divorce; (2) Treatment phase and husband's reaction, support after unsuccessful treatment; (3) MR after the delivery; (4) significance of child in marriage. It was identified that infertility, regardless of which gender experiences it, brought along many problems such as unhappiness, stress, sorrow, insomnia, increase/decrease in appetite, increase in the smoking habit, social stigmatization, being exposed to curious questions about having a child, avoiding being in places with children, losing privacy of sexual life, having sexual intercourse in a planned way solely for the purpose of reproduction not of pleasure, deterioration in family relations, interruption in work life, and high cost of treatment expenses. Infertility and its treatment have effects on MR and QoL. These effects varied depending on the stage of infertility process, gender, and the quality of the relationship.

Social Exclusion of Australian Childless Women in Their Reproductive Years

“…Some involuntarily childless women internalised pronatalism, perceiving themselves as failures and incomplete (Bell, 2013;Sternke & Abrahamson, 2015). There is, however, limited research investigating the exclusion of childless women in their reproductive years from the social domain, which encompasses social networks, support and interaction, and social and leisure participation (see for example, Albertini & Mencarini, 2014;Bell, 2013;Debest & Mazuy, 2014;Doyle, Pooley, & Breen, 2013;McNamee & James, 2012;Sternke & Abrahamson, 2015), the service domain, which incorporates availability, accessibility, affordability, appropriateness and adequacy of services (see for example Baker, 2003;Hammarberg, Astbury, & Baker, 2001;Mollen, 2006;Onat & Beji, 2012;Parry, 2004) and the economic domain, including participation in employment, the nature and quality of working lives, and material and financial resources (see for example Doyle et al, 2013;Fieder, Huber, & Bookstein, 2011;Huber, Bookstein, & Fieder, 2010;Malik & Coulson, 2013;Rich et al, 2011). There is no existing research in the civic domain, which includes participation in community and political activities, groups and organisations.…”

The Partnership and Coping Enhancement Programme for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment: the development of a complex intervention in China

“…In terms of its impacts on the couple's relationship, studies have reported that infertile couples had a lower level of marital satisfaction than their fertile counterparts [4,5]. A study conducted in China indicated that women seeking IVF treatment were more likely than fertile women to report that their marriage was unstable [6].…”

Reversal of the Norm: Pressure Discrepancies on the Two Sides of the Septum in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

“…Family formation can increase social and economic status of people in collectivistic cultures [38]. Voluntary childlessness is not socially acceptable in such a culture [19]. On the other hand, in an individual culture, there is a high value on the freedom and happiness of an individual, self and autonomous individual are highly emphasized [39].…”

“…The term infertility may be perceived clinically as a medical condition with no inclusion of psychological and social aspects [15]. However, there are studies indicating that infertility is experienced as a social and psychological phenomenon as well [16,17] and affects both social functioning [18,19] and psychological well-being [20]. Parenthood is a major transition in adult life for both men and women.…”