A qualitative study of the experiences of infertile woman in Iran

Abstract

Objective (s): Nearly all women consider child as the main part of the marriage in Iran. Women define child as "taste of the life" and a communication tool which binds them to other women. In fact, a womanchr('39')s personality and identity is not completed unless she has child. This study aimed to explore the experience of infertile woman in Iran. Methods: Grounded theory was the method that guided this research. Twenty-one infertile women were selected using theoretical sampling. Data were collected through semi structured in-depth interviews at Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran. Results: The core category we observed was "pressure on infertile women". Stigmatization was the main source of pressure, regardless of financial problems. When this pressure internalized in patients and coincides with social expectations of woman, they felt that they failed leading to ignores other dimensions of their life. Nevertheless, every infertile woman identified that they imagine of having child in their mind. Conclusion: When all social spaces are full of pressure and anxiety for infertile women, isolation is a natural consequence. Our study showed that most pressure was from fertile women to infertile women.

Keywords

• infertility
• pressure
• stigma
• identity
• qualitative research (grounded theory)