Resilience Among Women Living With Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND

Resilience constitutes the ability to adapt in the face of adversity, encompassing how women cope with psychological disorders related to infertility. Infertility impacts millions globally, representing a significant reproductive health concern, and has been linked to psychological distress, marital issues, and stigma. However, literature on resilience among women with infertility remains scarce, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare the resilience levels between women with infertility and those who are fertile and to identify the factors associated with low resilience among women experiencing infertility.

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional and comparative investigation conducted at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto (UDUTHS). The research included 131 women experiencing infertility and 131 fertile nurses, selected through consecutive sampling over a period of three months. The instruments employed encompassed the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Infertility-related Stress Scale (IRSS). Data analysis was performed utilizing IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25 (Released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and the relationships between variables were examined using the chi-square test.

RESULTS

Infertile women had a higher proportion with low resilience than fertile nurses (76 (58%) vs. 56 (42.7%)). Furthermore, women with infertility had a lower mean resilience score than fertile nurses (26.6 ± 9.6 vs. 29.2 ± 8.1). Lower resilience was significantly associated with tribe (p = 0.018), lower level of education (p = 0.019), shorter duration of marriage (p = 0.021), having no children (p = 0.006), having a nonliving child (p = 0.002), and negative perceptions of adoption. Infertility-related stress (OR = 2.936; 95% CI: 1.088-7.926; p = 0.034) and negative perceptions (OR = 2.812; 95% CI: 1.033-7.659; p = 0.043) remained predictors of low resilience.

CONCLUSION

Infertility among women is associated with diminished resilience, which is linked to childlessness, depression, and infertility-related stress. It is advisable to integrate routine psychological assessments into fertility clinics to facilitate early identification and evaluation of low resilience. Additionally, provide counseling services to at-risk patients throughout their treatment.