Psychosocial and Socio-Demographic Facets as Key Components in Infertility

Abstract

Background: Infertility is “a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.”(WHO-ICMART, 2013). Infertility causes various negative impacts resulting into psychosocial disturbances. Aim: To explore the varying degrees of anxiety, depression, stress, marital quality and fertility quality of life with the relationship between these variables in patients from different socio-demographic profiles undergoing fertility treatment. Sample and Research Design: 60 people of both the genders between the age group of 20-50 years with the diagnosis of infertility were included in a cross sectional study. Tools: Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale (DASS), Marital Quality Scale and FertiQol scale. Results and Conclusion: Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t-test and percentages showed that majority of the sample was suffering from moderate level of depression, normal level of anxiety and mild level of stress. Significant negative relationship of depression and stress was found with fertility quality of life. Significant gender difference in scores of depression, stress and fertility quality of life was found showing that women suffer worse than men. Other major findings will be discussed in the paper.