A Grounded Exploration of Consequences of Physical and Financial Infertility Among Infertile Females

Infertility is a stressful life event and is currently considered a relatively frequent issue among couples. According to world statistics, a couple out of every 8 couples is struggling with infertility. Medical factors associated with infertility, such as diagnosis, the duration of child wish, the numbers of treatment cycles, the geographical and financial availability of different Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) interventions, as well as communication with physicians and nurses working in the reproductive medicine filed could be the basic elements in determining the experience of infertility. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the physical and financial aspects of infertility in infertile females.

The current study was conducted in Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute in Yazd City, Iran, in 2018–2019. The statistical population was all women who were diagnosed with primary infertility. The grounded theory research method was adopted, based on the research subject and purposes. Grounded theory was proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The importance of this methodology, on one hand, is its capability in theorization, and on the other hand, is to create a space for analyzing qualitative data. The grounded theory is a qualitative approach in which the researcher proceeds to produce a general explanation (the theory) of a process, act, or interact, based on the viewpoint of a significant number of contributors. In this study, 21 females were selected and studied using a qualitative approach, grounded theory, and theoretical sampling. The sampling process continued until data saturation. Credibility in the present study was established through peer review, the research participants’ confirmation, and triangulation. Additionally, the registration of events and precise implementation of dependability has been established. The reflexivity technique was used in this study. Ethical considerations were also observed in this research. As outlined in the research sampling part, 21 participants were selected. The study participants (their infertility has been confirmed), were selected based on the theoretical and purposive sampling methods. The required data were collected and analyzed using the open and axial coding technique. For data collection, the interviews were recorded and consequently transcribed after several times of listening.

The current research findings included 13 main categories, namely high medical expenses; travel expenses; the lack of facilities; stress and financial concerns; strategies for attracting financial resources; an inequality of income and expenses; treatment abandon; medications’ adverse effects; negative effects on the hair growth; skin complications; drug inefficacy; voracious appetite; body vulnerability; the adverse effects of aging, as well as a core phenomenon called the expenses of parenting. The causal conditions, i.e., the main cause of infertility were infertility disorders and medical expenses. The underlying conditions of this phenomenon were financial stress and worries as well as a lower social class. Infertile couples, especially women, encounter financial pressures due to infertility. Strategies used by infertile women to cope with the relevant costs of parenting were discontinuing treatment and strategies for obtaining financial resources.

According to the present study findings, financial problems, as well as the physical complications of infertility drugs, are among the consequences of infertility that most infertile women have to cope with.