Experience of Women with Infertility: A Qualitative Study

Today, infertility is one of the most important health issues and represents a challenge for society and families. Therefore, this research has been conducted to investigate and describe the lived experience of women with infertility, the effects of infertility in both individual and marital dimensions of women with infertility. This study used a qualitative and descriptive phenomenological method. Participants were selected with the purposeful sampling method to have the most information. The study population included all women undergoing treatment at Jahad Daneshgahi Center of Lorestan province in Iran in 2022. Using the semi-structured interview method, 10 women with infertility were interviewed, and the interviews continued until theoretical saturation. Colaizzi's method and MAXQDA.20 software were used to code the data, and the respondent validation method was used to check the validity of the data. The information was sent to several interviewees, and the degree of consistency between the extracted data and their statements was examined. Analysis of the data from the interviews indicated 4 themes (worrying thoughts in the initial diagnosis, emotional reactions, feelings, and coping strategies) for the individual dimension and 5 themes (husband's performance, husband's sexual problems, woman's sexual problems, marital conflicts, and coping strategies) in the marital dimension. The results of the present study showed that infertility affects all dimensions of life, especially individual and couple aspects. As a result, paying attention to these women and receiving support from their partners, families, and related care institutions is mandatory.