Stigma predicting fertility quality of life among Chinese infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer

Abstract

Objective

To investigate stigma and fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) and identify predictors of FertiQoL in Chinese infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer (IVF-ET).

Methods

A descriptive correlational design was adopted to investigate the association between stigma and FertiQoL in 588 infertile women undergoing IVF-ET. The personal information questionnaire, Infertility Stigma Scale (ISS) and FertiQoL tool were used to measure study variables.

Results

The mean scores of ISS and FertiQoL were 62.59 (SD = 21.58) and 63.64 (SD = 13.72), respectively. There were significant differences of ISS scores among participants with different educational level, residence, occupation, religious belief, financial condition, age group, duration of infertility and infertility treatment, while significant differences of the FertiQoL scores were found in participants with different insurance status, determinism of etiology, infertile type, duration of infertility treatment and cycles of IVF-ET. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed stigma was negatively correlated with FertiQoL (r = −0.081 to −0.669, p < .05). The self-devaluation (β = −0.290, p < .001), social withdrawal (β = −0.237, p < .001), family stigma (β = −0.217, p < .001) and insurance status (β = 0.066, p=.035) were identified as the significant predictor of FertiQoL accounting for 43.5% of variance.

Conclusions

The stigma was significantly associated with FertiQoL in infertile women undergoing IVF-ET with higher level of stigma predicting poorer FertiQoL. More psychological support should be provided to infertile women to reduce stigma and improve FertiQoL.

Keywords:

• Infertility
• in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer
• stigma
• fertility quality of life
• predictors

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by ethical committee of Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital (Ref. No. 2019.015). Informed consent was obtained before patients were recruited into this study.

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate all the participants who showed great patience in answering the questionnaires and the nurses who assisted the researcher to approach the potential participants.

Author contributions

Xiaoyu JING carried out the data collection and data analysis and drafted the manuscript. Wei GU contributed to the study design, and drafting of the manuscript. Xiuli XU and Chunfang YAN contributed to data collection. Peijuan JIAO and LU ZHANG contributed to the data analysis. Xiaomei LI, Xiaoqin WANG contributed to drafting of the manuscript. Wenru WANG contributed interpretation of the results and critical revision of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the submitted version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.