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“It's Going to Work for Me.” Responses to Failures of IVF
Author(s) -
Williams Linda S.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
birth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.233
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1523-536X
pISSN - 0730-7659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-536x.1988.tb01096.x
Subject(s) - in vitro fertilisation , process (computing) , pregnancy , psychology , work (physics) , medicine , computer science , engineering , biology , genetics , operating system , mechanical engineering
Although most in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts end in failure, most women who try IVF once try again one or more times. This paper is based on an interview study of twenty Canadian women who underwent at least one IVF procedure, and it describes the way in which failure affected their decision to try IVF again. Since undergoing IVF increases awareness of each step in the biological process of becoming pregnant, it allows a woman to think of herself as “getting closer” to becoming pregnant, depending on the number of steps she successfully completes in the process, even if her attempt ultimately fails. Since a subsequent attempt might progress even further, perhaps to pregnancy, it therefore becomes difficult to stop trying. Women must be informed of this aspect of IVF if they are to make informed decisions concerning its use.