Assessment of Psychological Profile of Infertile Women in Egypt

Abstract

Infertility, defined as the failure to become pregnant despite regular sexual intercourse for one year, affects 10-15% of couples in the reproductive age group (18- 45 years of age).It often results in substantial negative social and psychological effects for the affected couple, particularly the woman (Sezgin et al., 2016). Infertile patients are subjected to greater stress and emotional tension than their fertile counterparts, and infertility is negatively associated with the relational, sexual, and psychosocial well-being of patients. Moreover, merely a diagnosis of infertility and treatment for infertility can result in not only distress or depression, but also a negative impact on the patient's quality of life (Chi et al., 2016). It is well known that the negative effects of infertility on quality of life and emotional distress were stronger for women than for male partners. Surprisingly, anxiety and depression levels in infertile women were equivalent to those found in women with heart disease or cancer, or to those who had been diagnosed as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive (Chi et al., 2016). Another important point concerning these psychological and sociological impacts of infertility is the fact that although they are common among cases of infertility, certain socio-demographical and medical characteristics such as age, educational background, family type, and environmental pressures play important roles in determining the level of anxiety-depression experienced by the infertile group (Pinar and Zeyneloglu, 2012). Keywords: Psychological; Infertile Women