Coping with Infertility

In Erik Erickson’s psychosocial development theory, he stated that human beings need to go through eight stages of human development starting from infancy to late adulthood. Each stage has its own developmental crisis that a person must overcome before moving on the next level. In the late stages of psychosocial development, Erikson described the milestones for middle adulthood as generativity and stagnation. It is in this stage that human beings develop a sense of unity with the mate, express love through  more than sexual contacts, and finally having a family. Rearing a family is not an easy task. It needs a lot of patience, hardwork and perseverance. One of the main problems at this age of development is the inability to produce offsprings which is otherwise known is infertility

Infertility has long been a problem of many couples trying to conceive. It may come from several reasons such as disease conditions that affect both males and females alike. In females, infertility may be due to ovulation problems, tubal blockage, physiologic incompatability (like android pelvis),  uterine problems , and simply too old to bear a child. In males, it could be caused by genetic conditions such as kleinfelter’s syndrome or other diseases that may give the person a low semen quality. The effect of infertility does not mainly affect the couple’s physical health but it mainly affects the couple psychologicaly. If couples try too hard to conceive a child, they develop a certain degree of anxiety which also affects sexual performance on both sides. Societal influence also plays a big role on the psychological effect of infertility. It is so frustrating for a couple who has been trying to conceive for more than three years to hear news about the increasing number of teenage pregnancies all over the world.

Since infertility affects the psychological aspects of the couple, there are several ways for them to cope with such a predicament. Seeing a psychologist can actually help in the coping process. The psychologist can actually help you in collaborating with a special medical work team, decrease external factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression, determine gaps in marital relationships through improvement of communication, and making decisions concerning alternative options. Several alternative options may include, surrogate motherhood, artificial insemination, adoption, and others. The only thing that is keeping several couples from resorting to alternative options is the moral and ethical constraints that it normally possess. Infertility as a whole is not only limited to the medical team. Couples can actually reach out to other people by being part of a group that is composed of infertile couples. This can can actually help since they can talk about the certain issues that are common among infertile couples. Group therapy works in many since they discover that they are not alone and that they have some people who can understand and console their problems. With all these solutions and ways in coping with infertility, it is most important that you keep family, friends, and love ones close to you. With 10 per cent of the whole world being infertile, it is very important that the burden be carried by not only one. Don’t be ashamed or hesistant, share your burden.