The Experience Of Infertility Among African American, Heterosexual, Couples

-seeking model provides a plausible explanation of observed disparities in infertility help-seeking. In addition to being related to income, race and ethnicity is related to prior experience with doctors, marital status, parity, knowledge and attitudes toward reproductive technology, and attitudes supporting spiritual rather than technological solutions to health problems.

Have you or your family been affected by Infertility? If so this is a Counselling-therapy support group for families that have been affected by Infertilty. It provides an opportunity to attend an informal group where you will have the chance to meet with other families who have been through similar experiences. Multi Family Support Groups are an evidenced based approach to helping people deal with life

Some tried to explain infertility as a path they did not choose but still had to travel, and some said the infertility changed their identity. The participants all took negative experiences and tried to illustrate them with words like, battle and illness. The third need for psychological well-being is relatedness. Participants all felt a lack of belonging because of infertility and saw it as a dance or a club they were not welcome in. This study focuses on communication, or lack of communication, of people experiencing infertility. The study extends our previous knowledge on the topic by allowing us to comprehend the reasons individuals may be experiencing psychological distress during infertility. It enables individuals to identify the aspects of life they can control, the freedoms they have in relation to their identity and choices, and relationships they can develop. By identifying these three things people can better communicate messages to help them cope with infertility. To perform this study, individuals were randomly assigned to one of four different environments to play the same game (in this case it was a bowling game) either against the computer or against another person. The average age of the participants

The husbands in this study viewed infertility as a problem, but primarily for their wives. Although they expected to become parents at some point in their lives, they never imagined experiencing difficulty with conceiving. When the husbands discovered that childlessness may be part of their reality, they acknowledged the issue, but maintained a level of emotional detachment. The pain and disappointment was compartmentalized, a cultural response to society’s expectation that men always present as strong in the face of adversity. Emotion and vulnerability are a weakness. Coping in less vulnerable ways is more socially acceptable. The husbands were very careful and limited in what they shared regarding their experience of infertility. As a result

Research on applicability of specific models of couple therapy for couples facing issues around infertility and treatment is limited because of the array of psychological and interpersonal problems the couples face. One approach researched is cognitive behavioral marital therapy (CBMT). According to theorists of cognitive-behavior, change in behaviors within a couple arises through marital distress (Myers & Wark, 1996). The behaviors occur disproportionately damaging to the relationship when compared to the benefit of the behavior (Myers & Wark, 1996). The applicability of this model in addressing problems related to infertility experienced by couples can address a broad range of issues: individual response to unconscious thoughts, and self-evaluation and perceptions, sexual dysfunction, and function of communication in a marital relationship (Myers & Wark, 1996). An argument against the use of CBMT in working with couples with issues of infertility is that the focus on behavior of the approach lacks sympathy. For this particular population of couples, the approach may not be perceived as suitable to meet their needs in struggling with an emotionally charged issue (Myers & Wark, 1996).

Infertility is a common condition that affects individuals worldwide. The global rates of infertility have not changed between 1990- 2010. The global prevalence is difficult to assess since both male and female factors can contribute to the condition; it was estimated that 48.5 million couples worldwide were unable to have a successful pregnancy [1]. An evaluation of responses from women in Demographic and Health Surveys from 1990 was completed in cooperation with WHO in 2004 resulted in the conclusion that one in every four couples in developing countries had been found to be affected by infertility [2].

Among the eight themes that were identified in the previous chapter, the outstanding theme that emerged across nearly all the studies was ‘depression’. This was followed closely by ‘need for support’. The next two most common themes were ‘profound grief’ and ‘social isolation’. Within the qualitative synthesis, three themes: ‘couples’ relationship’, ‘siblings’ issues’ and ‘return to normality’ seemed to be of relatively equal importance. However, two of these themes (couples’ relationship and siblings’ issues) have the same connotation and seemed to point at similar issues relating to impacts on the family. Of least importance was the theme of ‘recovery’ which is arguably an intangible benefit and is therefore irrelevant to the aim of the dissertation.

“When I grew up, I wanted to be a mom. Ever since I was a little girl, that’s all I wanted to do,” My mother tells me, hushed. She is the mother of three, two of which are well into adulthood and… well, me. Many people live their entire young lives waiting for the chance they can create their own creation; a life they brought into their world through hard labor that they can raise to fruition. To some, it is an expectation. To others, it’s a dream. But to some, this option is not available. Being infertile is a problem that have haunted women for centuries. For some, modern hormone treatments are helping them carry successfully to term. For others, a naturally born child of their own was never a possibility. There are also the transgender women

When a woman is diagnosed as infertile, there is a potential increase in stress for the woman, due to perceived social, emotional, and psychological distress (The Woman’s Health Council, 2009). Domar et al. (2012) indicated that this perceived distress is compounded by the advance infertility treatment, which, according to Zuraida (2010), is sought out by the 75% of individuals who have been diagnosed as infertile. Although both the number of medically diagnosed infertile woman and the number of evasive infertility treatment in the United States have significantly increased, the long-term psychological effects of the diagnosis and treatment are not fully understood (Ahuja, 2009; CDC, 2015; Schwerdtfeger & Shreffier, 2009). In 2010, Zuraida stated, “Over 100 quantitative studies and 26 qualitative studies had been published on the topic of the relationship between

Then, the infertile women self-completed the questionnaire. Investigators were available if additional information about the questions was requested. Inclusion criteria were : history of >12 months of infertility, capable of reading and writing, availability of the husband, no history of sterility, no remarrying of couples, no foster child. Exclusion criteria were psychiatric problems, experiencing a stressful event in the past three months (death or serious illness in the family, a major change in living conditions), currently using psychotropic and antidepressant medications, not sexually active in the preceding 4 weeks. Statistical analyses were performed using Independent sample t test, one way ANOVA, post-hoc test, linear and logistic

Couples dealing with infertility have many issues they may need support with. Some of the biggest problems they may have can be physical, but it is important to remember the psychological, emotional, and financial problems as well. Infertility is usually a problem that requires assistance from other individuals and the many resources available in the community. A couple may struggle for a long time if they try to go through infertility alone. An extra burden on the relationship can be lightened if the couple seeks help from those around them, including family, friends, and professionals. Some

The intimate relationship between partners is the core of one’s being. Miller (2012), states, “Our relationships with others are a central aspect in our lives”. This centrality enables one’s world views to be positive and secure. Partner’s world views are often similar and goals are shared. When parenting occurs between partners a new life is given to the couple and new hopes and dreams transpire. When a couple has a child, life is full and lasting.

The world has witnessed a marked increase in patients presenting to infertility clinics in the past three decades.1 Nigeria lies within the infertility belt where prevalence of infertility is at the highest.2 Infertility has been found to be the leading reason for gynaecological consultations (accounting for about 60%) with a prevalence of about 15% in Nigeria.3 According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART), infertility is defined clinically as a disease of the reproductive system characterized by a failure to achieve successful pregnancy after twelve months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.4

Understanding of the family life cycle as it applies to counselors working with couples and families.

Study examines the reasons behind high rates of early childbirth amongst African American teenagers. This