نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار جمعیتشناسی دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
2 استاد جمعیتشناسی، گروه جمعیتشناسی و مردمشناسی، دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه یزد، یزد، ایران
3 دانشجوی دکتری انشانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
4 دانشیار جامعهشناسی، دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه یزد، یزد، ایران
5 استاد مرکز تحقیقات و درمان ناباروری، پژوهشکده علوم تولید مثل یزد، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهید صدوقی، یزد، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Infertility is recognized as a significant global health challenge. However, reducing this phenomenon to a purely biological issue neglects its intricate social and cultural dimensions. Aiming to move beyond purely medical and biological perspectives, this study provides a qualitative exploration of the lived experience of infertility among couples in the city of Yazd, Iran. The primary objective is to understand how infertile couples confront and interpret their condition, and to trace their transition from the initial identity crisis they face to a state of proactive agency.The study employed a qualitative approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The participants consisted of individuals who had become parents through Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Using purposive and snowball sampling, 30 individuals (comprising 25 women and 5 men), aged between 28 and 53, were selected, and data were collected through in-depth interviews. Trustworthiness was ensured through established criteria, including member checking and peer debriefing. The analysis of the participants' life experiences revealed that their initial confrontation with infertility involved an attempt to identify the problem, coupled with the shock of medical diagnosis and a simultaneous profound distrust of physicians and the medical system. Subsequently, participants entered a period of painful experience characterized by a form of hidden grief—a mourning for the potential child and associated parental experiences that is not socially acknowledged. This disenfranchised grief often leads to emotional distress and a feeling of bodily inadequacy. To cope with their circumstances, couples frequently adopted strategies such as concealment and social isolation to evade intrusive questions and often presenting a facade of voluntary childlessness. Furthermore, due to prevailing gender stereotypes, participants perceived infertility predominantly as a female issue, thereby imposing an uneven social burden on women, even in cases that were attributed to male infertility factors. Despite enduring various social pressures accompanied by periods of inactivity, despair, and passivity, participants gradually renewed their psychological and financial resources, ultimately adopting a proactive approach towards assisted reproductive technologies. This cyclical treatment pathway, characterized by emotional and social challenges, highlighted the participants’ active agency. Ultimately, with renewed motivation, they made a reflexive decision to resume treatment and actively redefine their narratives surrounding parenthood. Overall, the findings indicate that the treatment path for infertile couples is not linear but a dynamic cycle of encompassing action, failure, pause, and resurgence. Initially confronted with a lifeworld crisis that disrupted their established identity frameworks, participants progressively endeavored to reconstruct their lives. They evolved from victims of circumstance into active architects of their own parenthood narratives, transitioning from a state of involuntary childlessness to one of elective parenthood. The policy implications of this research advocate for a conceptualization of infertility as a bio-social phenomenon that necessitates multifaceted interventions and social empowerment initiatives to support couples throughout their infertility journey.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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