Information Regarding Infertility Stress

By Adrian Logan

The most stressful situations that any couple must deal with is infertility. Even treatments for it can contribute to the stress that the couple goes through. In addition, their infertility can further worsen just by realizing that they themselves are stressed.

But what causes it? What are some of the factors behind infertility stress?

Firstly, it can start from being initially diagnosed as being infertile. After having sex for many months or up to a year, the woman can't get pregnant. The couple became frustrated and seek the advice of a fertility specialist. One or both could very well end up feeling depressed and inadequate when the specialist diagnoses either partner or both in some cases as being infertile,

Secondly, should the couple decide to undergo infertility treatments, doing so can further add to their stress. Such treatments can prove exceedingly and prohibitively expensive depending on the treatments required. (Patients, though, may be able to avail of financing options and fertility insurance if they qualify for it.)

And the process itself of having to go in and out of doctors' waiting rooms and hospitals, among other places, waiting with bated breath for results can surely add more stress on top of the existing stress,

Thirdly, even the act of lovemaking itself may contribute to the stress. Many couples may not be able to get past the fact that they are unable to bear children through "the usual way", through making love, and this can make things very hard for them because if they are unable to consummate the sexual act, they may have to make recourse to more medical procedures.

In addition, sex may feel forced and even something of a chore for the couple, since they would have to be doing it according to a schedule and in order to produce children instead of simply enjoying one another and/or giving each other pleasure.

In addition, men will feel emasculated and feel that they are responsible if they are unable to produce babies with their wives. Having to undergo fertility treatments may be even more demeaning for them. And since men have to produce semen in doctors' offices, learn that they might have low sperm count or have erectile problems, all these can prove extremely embarrassing to them.

It is extremely important to consider how the couple responds to such stress in the first place. Some can simply take it in stride and be positive even in the face of potential failure; others can be negative right at the outset even if the future for them might not be so bleak, and immediately contemplate having to adopt children while agonizing over how unfair things seem to be, and so on and so forth. This can result in a drastic lowering of self-esteem for couples and individuals.

Many couples end up going through extreme strain due to infertility. Some couples buckle under this strain, and many of them end up breaking up. Others, though, end up learning from this experience and end up stronger couples. - 29956

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