Just the Two of Us: Involuntary Childlessness, Causes and Consequences

Abstract

In the recent decades there has been a growing trend towards controlling fertility yet the desire to have at least one child seems overwhelmingly universal. Involuntarily childless couples undergo trauma and face stigma. Causes of infertility are linked with physiological malfunction. Studies have shown that, social change and its subsequent change in lifestyle along with other social cultural factors are linked to menstruation, conception and carrying the pregnancy full term. The present qualitative study included in-depth interviews with couples experiencing involuntary childlessness, gynaecologists and infertility specialists from Pune city. Majority of the respondents seeking medical assistance belong to the age group of 20–35 years. The causes of infertility can be categorized into genetic, physiological and lifestyle related. The common problems observed in males are lack of sperm motility, count or complete absence of sperm, whereas in females it is obesity and polycystic ovaries syndrome which can be a consequence of erratic and stressful lifestyle. The present research will help trace the socio cultural causes of infertility and the socio cultural pressures of the couples seeking treatment. If along with medical treatment, they are helped to deal with socio cultural circumstances then it may help to mitigate their circumstances.