Comparing the Marital Satisfaction in Infertile and Fertile Women Referred to the Public Clinics in Mashhad in 2006-07

Marital satisfaction affects mental health, life satisfaction, professional achievements, and social interactions. It is also one of the most important features of life satisfaction. Various factors affect marital satisfaction; one of the most important ones is the fertility situation. Some researchers believe that infertility can cause emotional distress; hence leading to sexual dissatisfaction. In contrast some studies reported that performing various tests for infertility by the couples enhanced the intimacy and relationship between them and might consequently lead to increased martial satisfaction. There have been few studies on the relation between infertility and marital satisfaction in Iran. Therefore we aimed to compare the marital satisfaction between a group of fertile and infertile women in Iran. In this cross–sectional study, 200 women aged 22-45 years who referred to the public health centers in Mashhad and fulfilled the eligibility criteria were enrolled. Included women were literate Iranian women living in Mashhad. One hundred women with at least one healthy child were assigned in fertile group and the other 100 women who fulfilled the infertility criteria were assigned in the infertile group. The women in both groups were asked to complete validated and self administered questionnaires including marital satisfaction questionnaire, general health questionnaire (GHQ28), and another questionnaire about the demography, obstetrics history, and treatment history.