Iranian infertile couples' strategies to manage social interactions after unsuccessful treatment with assisted reproductive technologies

Abstract

Many infertile couples feel vulnerable after failed treatment cycles and find insensitive remarks or inappropriate support distressing. They fear that the stress of failed treatment cycles may affect their marriage and lead to marriage breakdown. This study explored the strategies a sample of infertile couples used to manage social interactions after unsuccessful treatment with assisted reproductive technologies. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 34 participants including nine infertile couples, nine infertile women and two infertile men with primary infertility, two relatives, and three fertility clinic staff. The participants were selected through purposive sampling at an infertility centre in Iran, between 2016 and 2017. Data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analysed by qualitative content analysis approach. Participants found some social interactions after failed assisted reproductive treatment cycles to be distressing and painful. They described tolerating painful emotions which cause them sadness and sorrow as well as feeling embarrassed. As a result, they found they needed to maintain their adopting concealment strategies with their families through not permitting speculation, selective disclosure, not giving details and hiding the truth. This study showed that social interactions following failed assisted reproductive cycles can be upsetting for infertile couples. Couples use different strategies to manage potentially distressing social interactions. Healthcare providers and psychologists may provide a space for safe social interactions in order to help couples to use appropriate strategies in these circumstances.

Keywords:

• Assisted reproductive technology
• interpersonal relations
• infertile couple
• descriptive qualitative study
• treatment failure
• social adjustment

Acknowledgement

We appreciate the vice chancellor for research at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran and also the officials of Infertility Centre specially Mrs. Firouzeh Shafighi Shahri. This article is part of the Ph.D. thesis of the first author (SEZ) in Reproductive Health under the code 941108.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Research Council of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences supported this study.