Iranian women’s experiences of infertility: A qualitative study

Background: There are concerns and diverse experiences related to infertility andchildlessness. The lived experience of infertile people from various cultures needs tobe explored.Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Iranian women experiencesof their infertility.Materials and Methods: The data comprised interviews about fertility issues inthe Persian language with eighteen women, aged 17-45 yr old, who agreed to beinterviewed at the Mottahari Infertility Treatment Clinic, affiliated to the Urmia Universityof Medical Sciences about their fertility problems. They were approached by theresearchers at the time of their first visit. The verbatim transcribed interviews wereanalyzed using deductive conventional content analysis.Results: The experiences of the informants were conceptualized into four majorthemes: 1) Shock (subthemes: Disbelief and Denial); 2) Reaction (subthemes: Distress,Guilt, Loss of self-esteem and Sexual reluctance); 3) Processing (subthemes: Internalprocessing, Avoidance, Marriage at risk, External processing, Stigma caused bythe family and Stigma caused by the community) and 4) Reorientation (subthemes:Forgetting, Marriage to saving marriage and Sexual consent).Conclusion: Infertility can be a challenging condition. Considering that infertilityrelatedissues affect Iranian women more contextual factors is necessary. So, culturallysensitive and gender specific protocols are suggested to provide suitable and aboutculturally sensitive and gender-specific protocols is a necessity in order to providesuitable care to infertile women.

Iranian women’s experiences of infertility: A qualitative study Keywords:

Iran , Women , Infertility , Qualitative