“Nobody Thinks Twice About Asking”: Women With a Fertility Problem and Requests for Information

Interactive effects of social support and disclosure on fertility-related stress

“…This identification process progresses further as couples experience significant changes to their social network and subsequent sociocultural reality (Greil, 1997;Greil, Slauson-Blevins, & McQuillan, 2010). Most societies see parenthood as an essential milestone of adulthood (Bos & Van Rooij, 2007;Purewal & van den Akker, 2007), and young couples are continually exposed to normative pressure towards childbearing (Bernardi, 2003;Bute, 2009). For those struggling with a fertility problem, dealing with such pressure can lead to social isolation (Allison, 2011).…”

“…In fact, a significant number of individuals can experience negative outcomes such as misinterpretation, discrimination, stigmatization, rejection, or abandonment after disclosure (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009;Chaudoir & Fisher, 2010;Kalichman et al, 2003;Vyavaharkar et al, 2011). Infertility may differ from other invisible stigmatized identities (Cousineau & Domar, 2007;Greil, 1991;Slade et al, 2007;Whiteford & Gonzalez, 1995) such as HIV-positive status or homosexuality: Because young married or cohabiting couples are often regularly confronted with intrusive questions about childbearing and pregnancy (Bute, 2009), individuals are likely to have to deal with the anxiety of having their infertility unveiled at some point (Ragins, 2008). Among long-term involuntarily childless couples, fertility problems are disclosed in close relationships in about 90% the cases, and in more distant relationships in about half of the cases (van Balen, Trimbos-Kemper, & Verdurmen, 1996).…”

Informing or Exploiting? Public Reponses to Giuliana Rancic’s Health Narrative

“…The power of celebrity voices to demystify taboo topics such as infertility (Bute, 2009) is clear in this passage.…”

Dancing Around Infertility: The Use of Metaphors in a Complex Medical Situation

“…Such conversations can reveal divergent attitudes regarding fertility expectations and choices, including the most appropriate age for pregnancy or beliefs about contraception (Bute & Jensen, 2010). Disclosing infertility may also make it more difficult to maintain privacy boundaries on related topics, such as financial, emotional, or relational difficulties (Bute, 2009;Steuber & Solomon, 2011). Given these challenges, it can be difficult for members of the social network to provide effective support to someone with infertility (Bute, 2009).…”

“…One is an ongoing tension between openness and closedness (Steuber & Solomon, 2011). Couples want to receive support from others; however, disclosure of infertility can be viewed as taboo, awkward, and inappropriate because of the conflicting private, public, and political nature of sexual and reproductive health (Bute, 2009;Reagan, 2003). When couples do disclose their diagnosis, many people report feeling frustrated by conversations about infertility (Steuber & Solomon, 2011).…”