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Abstract:
Infertility is a complex medical issue that faces over six million women in the United States today. Not only does infertility encompass biological issues, but it also includes complicated emotional and psychological battles as well. The purpose of this article is to present the literature surrounding the psychology of infertility while also integrating personal stories of women who have battled infertility. The topics of motherhood and womanhood, hidden loss, grief, sorrow, effects on relationships, interventions, and hope for the future will be discussed to offer the health care provider insight into the psychological components of infertility.
Keywords: infertility, hidden loss, grief, motherhood
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term after 12 months of trying to conceive and involves the desire to conceive. If a woman is over the age of 35, the time of trying to conceive is reduced to 6 months to be considered infertile. One third of infertility problems can be attributed to male factors, and one third can be attributed to female factors with the remaining cases being attributed to both partners or may be considered unexplained infertility (Resolve, 2013). According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (2013), approximately 10% or 6.1 million women in the United States struggle with infertility. Less than half of women under the age of 35 who use reproductive technologies are successful in becoming pregnant, and the success rate drops significantly the woman ages, with only 12% success for women age 41 and 42 and only 5% for women age 43 and 44 (Resolve, 2013).
According to Resolve (2013) infertility is most commonly caused by problems with ovulation, but it can also be caused by blocked fallopian tubes, physical problems with the uterus, or uterine fibroids. Other things that increase a women's risk for infertility include age above 35, smoking, excess alcohol use, stress, poor diet, being overweight or underweight, sexually transmitted infections, and other health problems related to hormonal changes such as polycystic ovarian syndrome. Although infertility can affect women of any age, women over age 35 have a significant increase of facing this problem with one-third of couples with a woman greater than 35 facing infertility (Resolve, 2013).
This paper seeks to identify and understand...