Life Quality in Infertile Couples Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Techniques: a Qualitative Study

Background: Infertility is one of the most difficult and debilitating conditions that, besides having unfavorable effects on the life quality of infertile couples, it can lead to many problems. The aim of this study is to explain effective factors for life quality in infertile couples undergoing assisted reproductive techniques in a qualitative manner. Methods: In this qualitative study which was performed using a conventional content analysis method, 20 infertile couples who were referred to IVF Center, were interviewed in-depth. Sampling was purposive sampling and the interviews were continued until data saturation and the obtained data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results: Five major themes including infertility and emotional relation, relatives and infertile couples, sexual relation and infertility, mental disturbances, and cost of infertility treatment were extracted by analyzing the data. Conclusion: The findings suggested that infertility is not merely a physical disease that just requires medical and surgical interventions; consequently, its mental and sexual aspects should also be considered and life quality of the involved people needs to be increased using effective interventions.