Psychological impact of infertility

Infertility is a common disease in which either male or female is unable to produce children. The problem is either in the semen of a man or the problem is in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or endocrine system of the female. There are different causes of it ranging from genetic problems to natural problems. Infertility in females is caused by a disorder in the fallopian tubes, endocrine system, ovaries, or the uterine system.

Meanwhile, the reasons behind male infertility are dysfunctional semen, blockage of sperm track, and testicular system failure, due to abnormal sperm function. It is common for both men and women. According to the world health organization there are more than 40 million couples and 186 million individuals who have the problem of infertility.

Infertility is curable in some cases but in severe cases, a couple can't have a child. It causes a lot of distress and anxiety in those people who are unable to have a child of their own. There are some psychological impacts on the personalities of that couple. In this article, we will try to analyze those impacts.

Impacts

Anxiety and depression

Imagine your friend announces to you that he is going to have a baby very soon and you are unable to produce one, would it not make you depress? The anxiety and the depression infertility causes are beyond explanation. Research has shown that 50% of women and 15% of men believe that infertility is the most depressing experience they ever had. There is nothing like it. Note that men’s percentage is low because there is not much work done on men’s psychological impacts due to infertility.

Another shocking research reveals that most of the stress infertile women experience is similar to those of women who are going through high blood pressure, cancer, or cardiac treatments. That shows us the level of stress and anxiety a woman can experience being unable to have a child.

Why?

The question is why one should be worried to have a child or not? Or why would someone be so stressed as a cancer patient or high blood pressure patient? Most people are worried about social and peer pressure. When they see their close friends and relative have their children and they do not have, they feel an enormous social pressure which causes depression and stress.

Financial concerns are another reason people are so much stressful and worried. When they spend most of their money on the treatment of infertility they feel insecure about their finance, so they feel depress and stressful.

Due to these psychological problems a person undergoes a lot of physical and sexual changes which further deteriorate the conditions of the infertile couple. Following are some of the impacts of depression and anxiety on the body.

Sexual life

Sex is associated with emotions and desires. When either of the couples feels that s/he is unable to produce the child, s/he loses interest in the sex. Due to the guilt and frustration, the couple may lose interest and the desire for each other. Also in some infertility treatments, they are kept apart from each other which also results emotional distress in couples.

Identity crises

A sense of loneliness, guilt, regret, and identity crises can be seen in many infertile couples. They are unable to face society and thus avoid discussion with family, friends, colleagues, pregnant women, and sometimes with each other as well. This creates a sense of loneliness due to which the depression and anxiety become worse and worse.

As a result of loneliness, they feel otherized in the society and they suffer from identity crises which is more dangerous than depression and stress.

What to do?

There arises a question of what to do when you are in such a bad situation. The first thing we would recommend you is to start treatment. In many cases the treatment of infertility is possible. You can consult an online master of social work. The treatments include surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, donor eggs, freezing eggs, etc. the treatment depends on the level and nature of your disease.

If the treatment is not possible then consulting a mental health specialist would be a good option. They try to treat your depression, anxiety, stress, and other psychological problems. These mental health workers try to cope with your anxiety through different strategies and methods. They try to lower your depression and stress by using behavioral strategies, working on communication skills, training you to control emotions, and helping you to maintain your marital and non-marital relationships.