The experience of spontaneous pregnancy loss in infertile women who have conceived with the assistance of medical intervention.

January 24th, 2012 |

Author: admin

The purpose of this study was to provide a qualitative, phenomenological exploration of the lived experience of miscarriage after infertility treatment. This exploration focused upon the subjective experience of infertile women who conceived through the use of medical assistance, and then experienced the loss of their pregnancy. Ten women participated in in-depth interviews, modeled upon the phenomenological method of inquiry, which allows for openness to rich descriptions of the participants' experiences. Participants in the study conceived with the use of various medical interventions, from medication alone to specific procedures such as IUI and IVF. The time of gestation prior to the loss ranged from two weeks to 16 weeks. Four participants had multiple losses, with one participant having two pregnancy losses, two participants experiencing three losses, and one participant having four losses. The interviews were analyzed first by content, recording participants' responses to specific questions that were standard in all of the interviews. The interview content was then synthesized as a composite whole, using a phenomenological analysis, which revealed the following themes: A sense of profound loss and grief that included many layers of losses, a sense of being out of control or having little control, a sense of shared loss with their partners, a sense of injustice or lack of fairness regarding their situation, ongoing reminders of the loss in everyday details, a sense of social awkwardness because of their experiences, fear of reinvesting in the treatment process or a subsequent pregnancy, the need to make meaning from their experiences, and a sense of responsibility for what had happened. Experiencing the loss of a pregnancy that was conceived through the use of medical intervention for infertility was seen as a discrete event by participants, and their subjective experiences were highly influenced by the infertility treatment process itself, as well as by their high investment in and desire to have a child. The results of the study were compared with the existing literature in related areas. Implications for counseling practice and recommendations for future research were also discussed.