"I am anxious and desperate": psychological experiences of women with infertility in The Greater Accra Region, Ghana
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Research has shown that infertility affects millions of couples worldwide. Infertility is considered one of the most difficult life experiences and can result in psychological consequences for couples, especially for women. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological experiences of women with infertility. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory descriptive approach was used to conduct in-depth interviews. The psychological component of the bio-psychosocial model was used as a guiding framework to understand the experiences of women with infertility. Fourteen women were selected based on the purpose of the study and provided their informed consent, and were interviewed between November 2015 and January 2016. All the women were recruited from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Each interview lasted for 30 to 40 min. All interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: The findings from the study showed that women with fertility problems experienced many emotional difficulties such as loneliness, anxiety, depression, lack of concentration, worrying, and reduced sexual satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Women in this study encountered psychological challenges and experienced emotional distress. Such women would benefit from psychological support such as counseling to help alleviate their psychological problems. These findings have implications for the care of women with infertility in Ghana.
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Anxiety is one of the most prominent features of infertility-related distress.
“Anxiety emerged as one of the most prominent features of infertility-related distress, consistent with previous findings from other studies in which anxious rumination was reported to be a common feature of infertility.22 23”
From Infertility-related distress and clinical targets for psychotherapy: A qualitative study (2021) · cites this paper as [23]
Broad themes of deterioration of couple and weakened social support systems have been previously identified.
“Finally, the broad themes of deterioration of the couple,22 23 28 and of weakened social support systems27 28 have been previously identified.”
From Infertility-related distress and clinical targets for psychotherapy: A qualitative study (2021) · cites this paper as [23]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Donkor, E. S., Naab, F., & Kussiwaah, D. Y.
- Affiliations
- University of Ghana (GH)
- Ghana Health Service (GH)
- Corresponding author
- Donkor, Ernestina S.
- ORCID
- Naab, Florence
- Venue
- Fertility Research and Practice
- Published
- 2017-03-16
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 6-6
- ISSN
- 2054-7099 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5424311
- OpenAlex
- W2596084277
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 3.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Fertility Research and Practice (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- female infertility, psychological experience, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, sexual satisfaction, biopsychosocial model, psychological support, women's mental health, Ghana
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