Background:
Infertility, as a life crisis, affects women more than men, even when
women are not infertile.
Objective:
This study was conducted aimed at exploring Iranian women’s perceptions and experiences
of their husbands’ behavior towards male factor infertility.
Methods:
This qualitative study was performed using content analysis. A purposeful sampling
method was employed and continued until data saturation for women who had referred to Milad
Fertility Clinic and Health Care Centers within the time period of 2014-2015 in Mashhad, Iran, with
their husbands being infertile. Thirty semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18
women. Conventional content analysis was employed to analyze the data. Besides, Lincoln and
Guba's evaluative criteria were utilized to check the trustworthiness of the study.
Results:
Perceived spousal emotional distress was the main topic of the study, which consisted of
two subgroups, i.e., 1- husbands’ chaotic emotions with the sub-categories, including the “feelings
of inferiority and incompetence”, “isolationism in life”, “irritability and arrogance”, “pessimism
and cynicism”, as well as “anxiety and aggression”, and 2- husbands’ reluctance to seek treatment,
including “inattention to medical prescriptions”, “resistance to the sperm analysis test”, and “opposition
to the assisted reproductive technology and adoption”.
Conclusion:
Male infertility can lead to marital problems and mistreatment of women. Hence, supportive
and preventive measures are required to improve the conditions of such women.
Women's perceptions and experiences of the challenges in the process of male infertility treatment: A qualitative study
