Stress, stigma, violence experiences and social support of US infertile women.

Objectives

Previous studies investigated the physical, psychological and sociological effects of infertility; however, stigma and violence experiences of infertile women haven't yet been studied in the US. The objective of the study is to examine the perceived stress, stigma, violence experiences, and social support of US infertile women and to compare with fertile women in order to understand the effects of infertility on stress levels, violence exposures, and support.

Methods

The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with fertile and infertile women who use social media for an online support group. A convenience sample of 786 women completed an online survey.

Results

In the study, 41.6% of participants were fertile and 58.4% were infertile. We found infertile women experienced high levels of stigma and moderate stress. One in five infertile women has been exposed to emotional or physical violence. Compared to fertile women, infertile women had significantly higher perceived stress levels and were less likely to experience emotional or physical violence.

Conclusion

These findings highlight that infertile women have experienced stigma and high levels of stress in a developed country. They are also exposed to emotional or physical violence, but surprisingly infertile women are less likely to report violence than fertile women.