The Enduring Impact of Infertility: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS)

Background:  Infertility is a life stressor that directly affects males and females. Although the advanced technology in treatment has helped numerous families realize their dreams, many still fail at finding a child of their own. Literature suggested that under the impact of infertility, the pressure and suffering that women carry is more intense and profound.  The purpose of this Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS) is, therefore, to explore the longstanding impact of infertility in women, to deeply understand the experiences of those who suffer from infertility, and therefore, to inform social services practice and policy in helping individuals and families coping with infertility.

Method:  Seven qualitative studies with a sample of 135 (126 females, 9 males) were selected. The QIMS is a method aims at enhancing the understanding of the phenomenon of study by “synthesizing” the combination of various ideas and concepts (Aguirre & Bolton, 2013). For this QIMS, we searched a large academic database with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. From 980 potential studies, after title review, abstract review, and full text review, the sample process was eventually composed of seven studies published between 2000 and 2015 that describe the experiences of 135 individuals, from age 20 to 59, in seven studies conducted in the US, Australia, Sweden, and the UK. Data analysis then followed by themes extraction and data synthesis process.

Results:  The majority of participants are Caucasians, with less than 5 are Hispanic or African Americans. Findings indicates that regardless of age, countries, social backgrounds, or the length of time coping with infertility, women who have this problem share relatively similar sufferings when combating with infertility. The emotional and psychological effects of infertility in women does not stop, even when they have stopped trying. Data analysis generated four emerging themes that capture the experiences of women with infertility, including: identity crisis, the insecure sense, social isolation, and finding strength. Overarching themes, “a sense of incompleteness” and “the permanent present of infertility across the life span” was identified to capture the nuances of the enduring impact of infertility. Loss of control, frustration, erosion of confidence, self-blaming, guilt, regret, deteriorate of self-esteem, all contribute to the feelings of incompleteness and devaluation of self –worth.

Conclusions:  Findings indicate that the enduring impact of infertility on women is profound, universal, and long-lasting. Due to cultural and social sensitivity, the pain and effects that come along with infertility are usually buried, but it is indeed a common experience that most of the infertile women share very similar sufferings.

This study presents the need and significance of specialized counseling and psychosocial support for individuals with infertility. Understanding the echoed effects of infertility across lifespan, it is important to have specialized counselor in this field. As the profession that provides the majority of counseling in the US, social work has a key role in raising the awareness of the effects of infertility on individuals, families and society, and in assisting individuals and families with infertility to seek help and cope with their life crisis.