Voices of the Unheard: Women and Infertility in India

More than just a medical condition, infertility is mired in a multitude of socio-cultural phenomena that leave indelible impressions on the lives of women and families. A qualitative phenomenological study examined the experiences of infertility for women from low-income families in India, illustrating its impact on well-being. Women’s experiences with their partners, family, community and medical service providers had multiple consequences on their sense of identity and mental health. Motherhood emerged as an inextricable part of being a woman, and the inability to have a child left women feeling incomplete and “defective”. While most women experienced support from their husbands, their encounters with family and society left them feeling victimized, scrutinized and isolated. Reproductive choices were rarely in the hands of the women as they continued with the physically and emotionally ravaging cycles of treatment to fulfill the individual and familial desire to have a child. Women coped by taking care of themselves emotionally, by actively looking for alternatives or by suppressing their feelings and leaving everything to God. The study has implications for professionals working on gender and reproductive health.