Increasing and decreasing factors of hope in infertile women with failure in infertility treatment: A phenomenology study

Assisted reproductive treatments (ART) [DK1] provide the hope of pregnancy for infertile women, but do not always turn this hope into reality. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of infertile women from increasing and decreasing factors of hope in infertile women with failure in infertility treatment. Using a qualitative research design (Phenomenology study), 23 subjects were selected who had experienced infertility failure visited by gynecologist (Jahrom Infertility center) in 2012. The data were collected through semi structured interviews and analyzed using interpretive research strategies of phenomenology by Collizi''s seven-stage method. Totally 96 codes were identified. The data arranged in two categories. The factors decreasing and increasing hope in infertility treatments. Totally 5 themes and 20 sub themes were extracted. The increasing factors which emerged from the data contain «spiritual source», «family interaction and support» and «information through the media», and decreasing factors contain «nature of treatments» and «negatively oriented mind». The results illustrated that hope to ART dependent to variety of factors that change hope in infertile couples; therefore counseling for these women should involve the provision of both positive and negative information, evaluation of the response to treatment, and assistance in defining their future