The Impact of Infertility on Women's Mental Health

Infertility is a disease that affects millions of Americans, and the numbers are rising each year. For women under the age of 35 years, infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a child after 1 year of unprotected sexual intercourse. For women aged 35–40 years, it is defined as inability to conceive after 6 months of unprotected intercourse. For women over the age of 40 years, it is the inability to conceive after 3 months of unprotected intercourse. Infertility is also the inability to carry a pregnancy to term, such as in cases of recurrent pregnancy loss. The cause of infertility is shared equally by both sexes; 30% is male-factor infertility and 30% is female-factor infertility. The remaining 40% of cases are caused by a combination of male and female factors or are “unexplained” infertility, in which all tests fail to identify a cause [1]. The diagnosis of infertility can be attributed to many factors: anatomical abnormalities, hormonal and metabolic problems, age, infections, lifestyle (eg, smoking), tubal disease, cancer treatments, antiphospholipid syndrome, genetics, and environmental chemicals [2]. Infertility and Mental Health Infertility has a profound impact on women's mental health and on the person as a whole. Physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual, and financial aspects of one's life are all affected by this disease of the reproductive system. The most common mental health concerns reported by fertility patients are symptoms of anxiety and depression [1]. The more physically and emotionally demanding and intrusive patients' medical treatments become, the higher the…