The male experience of infertility: a thematic analysis of an online infertility support group bulletin board

Abstract

Past research has suggested that men and women differ in their response to the experience of infertility. However, there is comparatively little research focusing specifically on the male perspective of infertility. The aim of this study was to examine communication within an online infertility support group bulletin board for men and to obtain a richer understanding of the experiences and needs of men affected by infertility. Inductive thematic analysis of 728 messages revealed 5 themes: 'Supporting dearest partner is our key role', 'Is this a good or bad pain', 'Us blokes are mere spectators in most people's eyes', 'Sometimes a male perspective is needed', and 'I don't want to get my hopes up but I can't help it'. Our findings suggest that online support groups may provide a useful venue and context for men to open up about their fertility problems, without the inhibitions associated with face-to-face discussions. In contrast to past research, our findings reveal that the men participating in this online group were experiencing a range of negative emotions and difficulties as a result of infertility.

Couples’ discontinuation of fertility treatments: a longitudinal study on demographic, biomedical, and psychosocial risk factors

“…However, this latter study has a reduced number of discontinuers comparing with continuers, which can create a bias in the predicting power of the analysis. Although infertility is also burdensome for men [55][56][57], men tend to suppress their emotions about infertility more than women [58][59][60] and tend to assume the main role in supporting their wives during the infertility process [58]. Clinically depressed women, by definition, may not have the emotional strength to pursue treatment, and their partners may encourage them to forgo their infertility process-related burden, leading to discontinuation.…”

Emoting infertility online: A qualitative analysis of men’s forum posts

“…As well, more research focusing on how couples deal with infertility, separately and together, would be valuable -although the men featured here demonstrate emotional expressiveness, homosocial support and care, we know little of how men coconstruct and negotiate infertility with their partners. Previous research into infertility has noted that men frequently assume the 'sturdy oak' role within their intimate relationships (Shirani and Henwood, 2011;Malik and Coulson, 2008;Throsby and Gill, 2004;Cousineau and Domar, 2007;Culley et al, 2013) -but the impact of online outlets such as the forum featured here on how men then relate to their partners remains unknown.…”

“…Moreover, and building on the work of Malik and Coulson (2008), we highlight the value men appear to derive from emotional sharing within the context of a men only forum, demonstrating how men share, care and support each other online in ways which would not be perceived to be acts of traditional formulations of hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995). Our analysis documents the range of emotions connected to distinct events (e.g.…”

“…Malik and Coulson (2008) found that men felt their 'role' in infertility was to support their partners, and that the men often felt neglected from the fertility treatment experience given the female focus of clinical approaches to assisting reproduction. Malik and Coulson (2008) also noted the need for much more research online, particularly exploring how men experience and convey the emotional impact of infertility.…”

“…Research utilising online data to explore fatherhood is also emerging, such as Eriksson and Salzmann-Erikson (2012), and pertinently, Malik and Coulson's (2008) work, which demonstrated the potential of this approach in relation to men and infertility. Malik and Coulson (2008) found that men felt their 'role' in infertility was to support their partners, and that the men often felt neglected from the fertility treatment experience given the female focus of clinical approaches to assisting reproduction.…”