| Abstract [eng] |
Infertility is a prevalent issue for women who experience diagnoses of a damaged reproductive system. The loss of the experience of being a mother and every part that is involved in motherhood, beginning with the prenatal stages, up to parenting your offspring, is a form of bereavement that is far from ordinary. Several studies have stated that women who experience infertility and are going through medical treatment, face psychological distress that can be attributed to processes of bereavement (Lukse & Vacc, 1999; Mcbain & Reeves, 2019; Schwerdtfeger & Shreffler, 2009). However, there is a lack of research signifying the experiences of infertile women who have not gone through treatment. The goal of this study is to understand the grieving processes that infertile women, who do not receive treatment, are going through. To have a better understanding of the unique experiences of these women, a qualitative research method was chosen. A total of six infertile women have participated in the study, with the average age of 27 years old. The participants took part in semi-structured interviews, after which the data was analyzed by using the thematic analysis method. The results revealed that infertile women, who have not received treatment at the time, have difficulty coming to terms with the diagnosis, are prone to self-isolate and internalize grief. The grief women experience in regard to infertility are multi-faceted, therefore being a possible risk factor for complicated grief to develop over time. Overall, it can be seen, that women experiencing difficulties getting pregnant often face various triggers, that strengthen the feeling of grief. Yet due to the dual nature of anticipatory bereavement, these women constantly fluctuate from feeling hopeful, to episodes of depression and grief. |
