Confronting infertility in Iranian clients: a grounded theory

Abstract

The present study examined how infertile Iranian clients confront infertility. Research on infertility has confirmed the significance of a socio-cultural context in the formation of responses to infertility. This study used the grounded theory approach to explore the experiences of infertile individuals presenting at the Royan Institute in Iran from October 2013 to September 2014. Clients with infertility of at least two years in duration were recruited using purposive sampling followed by theoretical sampling. A total of 41 interviews were conducted with 36 people. Data were collected through in-depth unstructured interviews and field notes. Data analysis was performed using MAXQDA 2007. A sense of ‘insecurity about personal and family identity’ shaped in the context of ‘facing the cultural-economic dilemmas’ was identified as the main concern of infertile clients. The clients dealt with this concern through a series of strategies that included gradual acceptance of infertility, seeking information and consultation, pursuing treatment, focusing on saving the marriage, self-control and resilience and fighting inner turmoil. All these approaches suggest ‘protecting personal and family identity’ as the core concept. The findings highlight the need for the health care system to treat infertility as a broad concept than mere individual and biological dysfunction.