At present, 17.5 % of couples worldwide are dealing with impact of infertility. In Spain, one in every five couples is struggling with fertility issues, and about 56 % of those one in five couples have started to undergo assisted reproduction treatment.
Receiving an infertility or sterility diagnosis has a huge psychological impact on both members of couples who want to start a family but are struggling to get pregnant. Dealing with this type of unexpected situation is going to require learning how to manage the passing of time while waiting for a positive pregnancy test, facing medical tests and/or treatments, and managing stress, anxiety and social pressure all while wrestling with a roller coaster of emotions throughout the journey. Improving mutual support and communication is also going to be crucial for the couple. The impact of infertility on emotional health is therefore just as significant as its medical implications.
What impact of infertility have on couples?
Whether a couple is struggling to conceive, or they conceived but the pregnancy didn’t progress as planned, the first few months of feeling disheartened, disappointed and impatient may lead the couple to visit an assisted reproduction clinic looking for answers. This first step, which is not easy for many couples, is absolutely necessary so that the couple’s particular situation can be evaluated by fertility experts who will be able to propose a strategic approach and treatment options with the goal of achieving a pregnancy that goes to term, and finally a baby at home. Understanding the impact of infertility early can help couples better prepare emotionally for the road ahead.
An infertility diagnosis along with pressure from friends and family to start a family can equally affect both members of a couple regardless of how each person handles it and expresses themselves. Different coping mechanisms or ways of expressing how they feel could be attributed, for example, to the fact that age is a determining factor in females (i.e. “pressure from the biological clock”), more than in males.
In terms of how each individual experiences infertility, both males and females can feel as though they’re going through a life crisis, though females tend to show more symptoms like negativity and disappointment, anxiety and feeling like they are the one to blame for their situation since they feel responsible for their inability to get pregnant during treatment. The impact of infertility in these cases is often intensified by social stigma and personal expectations.
The impact of medical tests will require a different psychological approach for each person: while males are generally more analytical, females tend to need to express their emotions in order to cope with the situation. This shows how the impact of infertility is not uniform but varies depending on personality, gender, and personal history.
Aspects to be taken into account in the impact of infertility on the couple
Remember to pay special attention to these aspects of your relationship while undergoing assisted reproduction treatment:
- Learn to manage emotions such as frustration, blame, anger, helplessness and uncertainty. Learn how to cope with negative results.
- Make sure you are properly communicating with each other to express how you feel and what you need; this will help you to better understand each other.
- Give each other personal space and time. This is just as important as shared space and time.
- Find time to enjoy sex, intimacy and affection, as these activities can often start to feel unnatural while undergoing treatment.
- Keep in touch with friends and family. As a couple you will decide how many details you wish to share with others about your treatment, but having a close friend or family member you can count on for support is going to be crucial.
- Both members of the couple need to be responsible for forming healthy habits for both physical and mental self-care so that each person can be their best self.
- Make time for and plan leisure activities throughout the process – make sure to focus some of your energy on other things in life so that you do not become completely consumed by your fertility treatment.
- Make sure that you talk things through and are in agreement when it comes to decisions being made regarding all the different aspects of assisted reproduction treatment such as timelines, different options, etc.
In order to improve quality of life and the ability to adapt throughout the treatment process, it’s essential for couples to have a psychology professional on their multidisciplinary team. This way, the team can provide the future parents with a combined medical-psychological approach from the very beginning starting with the initial diagnostic testing, and over the course of the rest of their journey.
At URE Centro Gutenberg you will have access to psychological support from the moment you first get in touch with our clinic, as well as over the course of your treatment whenever needed. In addition, your first contact with us is cost-free and included in your treatment.
Araceli Ortega Martínez – Psicóloga URE Centro Gutenberg y Ortega Psicología, gabinete psicológico asociado.
