Iranian women’s experiences of infertility: A qualitative study

There are concerns and diverse experiences related to infertility and
childlessness. The lived experience of infertile people from various cultures needs to
be explored.
Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Iranian women experiences
of their infertility.
Materials and Methods: The data comprised interviews about fertility issues in
the Persian language with eighteen women, aged 17-45 yr old, who agreed to be
interviewed at the Mottahari Infertility Treatment Clinic, affiliated to the Urmia University
of Medical Sciences about their fertility problems. They were approached by the
researchers at the time of their first visit. The verbatim transcribed interviews were
analyzed using deductive conventional content analysis.
Results: The experiences of the informants were conceptualized into four major
themes: 1) Shock (subthemes: Disbelief and Denial); 2) Reaction (subthemes: Distress,
Guilt, Loss of self-esteem and Sexual reluctance); 3) Processing (subthemes: Internal
processing, Avoidance, Marriage at risk, External processing, Stigma caused by
the 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 infertility-
related issues affect Iranian women more contextual factors is necessary. So, culturally
sensitive and gender specific protocols are suggested to provide suitable and about
culturally sensitive and gender-specific protocols is a necessity in order to provide suitable care to infertile women.