The importance of the physician after successful artificial insemination by donor

Abstract

A treatment by artificial insemination by donor because of male infertility represents a drastic experience for the affected couples. Imaginations concerning the importance of the anonymous donor or the physician were already picked out as a central theme in the past. In some studies, for example, these imaginations were thought to have an adverse effect on the satisfaction in the partnership as well as for the development of the child. Aim of the examination on hand was the current meaning of the treating physician six years after treatment and his position in the self-system of the couples concerned. 15 successful couples could be examined by Repertory Grid method. The results of this study showed, that the physician had no prominent meaningfulness for the couples six years after the therapy. In the analysis of the self-system of the couples, gender specific differences could be seen. In the self-system of the treated women, the physician had a position close to their self and their ideal-self. This position was influenced by the self-esteem of the women. A higher self-esteem was associated with a greater closeness to the physician as well as to their partner. The analysis of the self-esteem of the affected men showed a completely different pattern. The greater the self-esteem of the male patients, the greater the devaluation of the physician, which showed in a greater distance to their ideal-self. The gender specific perceptions of the inseminating physician can be interpreted as specific adaptations to different coping requirements.