The Mental Health Impact of Infertility in Females
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Authors
Van Vliet, Chantel
Issue Date
2024-06
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
female , mental health , infertility
Alternative Title
Abstract
Across the globe roughly one out of six people will be diagnosed with infertility, defined as difficulties in conceiving a child. This capstone will explore the mental health impact of female infertility, exemplifying that female infertility is linked to the following negative mental health outcomes, depression, suicide, anxiety, stress and grief and loss. Despite these results, the research was not without its limitations such as a lack of consistent definition of infertility, the exclusion of a major population of females, females with pre-existing medical problems that make it difficult to conceive a child, despite not trying to get pregnant, and the research was limited by their sample techniques in a multitude of ways. Considering these limitations, there are a variety of implications for researchers, doctors and counsellors. Researchers should create a new universal definition of infertility, adapt or create a new conceptualization of infertility that includes females with pre-existing medical problems, and prioritize new research that incorporates a more diverse and inclusive population. For doctors, they should increase their fertility support for females with pre-existing medical problems, as well as reflect on how their chosen definition of infertility may exclude certain females struggling with infertility. For counsellors implications range from incorporating a feminist and narrative lens, prioritizing the exploration of the negative mental health outcomes linked to this condition, to exploring biases and assumptions around infertility.
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess