Pregnant, Donor Oocyte Recipient Women Describe Their Lived Experience of Establishing the “Family Lexicon”

Abstract

To describe the lived experience of pregnant women who used donor oocytes for conception. Qualitative, using a descriptive phenomenologic approach. Interviews were completed at a location and setting selected by the participant. Of the 16 interviews, 13 were conducted at the participant's home, 1 was conducted at a private office, and 2 were conducted by telephone. Eight women, between the ages of 33 and 46 years, were recruited at a large urban infertility center. The women were between 9 and 23 gestational weeks pregnant at the time of data collection. Each of the women participated in two open-ended, in-depth, audiotaped interviews and answered a demographic questionnaire. Four themes emerged from the women's description of their experience, which were (a) acknowledging the desire for motherhood, (b) accepting and coming to terms with donor oocytes as a way to achieve motherhood, (c) navigating an intense period of decision making, and (d) living with the lasting legacy of achieving motherhood through oocyte donation. Clinical practice can be improved by incorporating recognition, support, and communication of the experience to women contemplating or undergoing donor oocyte treatment.