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Culture And Infertility Issues Essay

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Culture and Infertility Issues (1 pg. - Lizbette) Several challenges can arise in couples when they face infertility issues that many times are shaped by cultural influences. As couples try to deal with emotional, physical, medical and relational challenges couples also have to endure further distress due to cultural messages (Burnett, 2009). According to Burnett (2009) there are cultural influences involving medical factors that couples may face such as medical professionals may alienate culturally diverse groups (African Americans are more alienated by professionals than other cultures). There are culturally unacceptable medical procedures such as semen collection in certain cultures (Asian and Mexican). Relational considerations involving issues of infertility also are considered part of cultural messages that impact couples (Burnett, 2009). Culturally it can be difficult to inform family members and friends about the couples struggles with infertility. As stated by Burnett (2009) managing …show more content…

In accordance Lee and Sun (2000) state that guilt and shame were also associated more often with Chinese women than with Chinese men. As stated by Lee and Sun (2000) for men in Chinese cultures childbearing is seen as strengthening manliness. In some Chinese cultures if a couple cannot bare children the husband will divorce his wife and marry another woman that can bear his children (Lee & Sun, 2000). According to Lee and Sun (2000) when it pertained to infertility issues women where more distressed than males reported being. Also, women reported having more self-esteem issues than men when it involved infertility (Lee & Sun, 2000). In Chinese cultures women’s in-laws place a lot of pressure on them to bear children, therefore women expressed being more worried about seeking acceptance from their in-laws than their husbands did (Lee & Sun,

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