Premium
Passage Through Infertility Treatment: A Stage Theory
Author(s) -
Blenner Janet L.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1990.tb00199.x
Subject(s) - infertility , stage (stratigraphy) , gynecology , medicine , obstetrics , biology , pregnancy , genetics , paleontology
This grounded theory study explored the perceptions of 25 couples as they underwent infertility assessment and treatment. A substantive theory of passage through infertility treatment explains the psychosocial responses of couples to their infertilityfromprediagnosis to posttreatment. The theory consists of three concepts—engagement, immersion and disengagement. Eight stages were identified within these concepts: experiencing a dawning of awareness, facing a new reality, having hope and determination, intensifying treatment, spiralling down, letting go, quitting and moving out, and shifting the focus.