Going through treatment: experiences of women who sought assisted reproductive technology treatment in five selected hospitals in Ghana

Abstract

Using a qualitative approach, this paper explores the accounts of 30 women who accessed assisted reproductive technology treatment in five fertility hospitals in Ghana. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data on women’s experiences of the procedure. Findings indicated that most of the women sought ART treatment to save their relationships from collapsing, with pressure and demands from friends and in-laws as key motivating factors. Women complained of emotional imbalance and the high cost of ART treatment. They felt compelled to borrow money from friends, family and banks and, sometimes sold assets to pay for treatment costs. Health consequences such as depression, changes in menstrual flow, weight loss, body pain, breast tenderness, bleeding and disruption to daily activities and sexual life were reported as problems encountered by the women. While study findings are supportive of the inclusion of infertility treatment in the national health insurance scheme, more adequate counselling and education for women undergoing ART treatment is required.

Keywords:

• Assisted reproductive technology
• experiences
• Ghana
• infertility
• women

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the management and staff of the selected hospitals and the women who shared their experiences of ART. We also acknowledge the assistance of Ebenezer Agbaglo from the Department of English, University of Cape Coast, for proofreading this paper. Finally, we are grateful for the support of our research assistants: George, Mary, Kingsley, Ike and Gina.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.