Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T08:26:39.022Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 15 - The Male Experience with Fertility and Counseling

from IV - Addressing the Needs of Diverse Populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

By
Brennan Peterson  and
William Petok
Edited by
Sharon N. Covington
Sharon N. Covington
Affiliation:
Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, MD
Get access

Summary

The male experience of infertility has been widely misunderstood, largely because cultural socialization and methodologic limitations restrict men’s expression. While many have believed that men are not emotionally impacted by infertility, recent studies show that men actually experience a variety of complex emotional reactions to an infertility diagnosis, including depression, helplessness, and threats to their masculine identity. In addition, men commonly report feeling they have little to contribute to medical treatments – even in cases of male-factor infertility. Qualitative research has provided insight into the complex inner landscape men experience when navigating infertility. Healthcare and mental health professionals are in a unique position to increase men’s involvement in the treatment process. Fertility counselors now have the skills and training to help men navigate the infertility journey by giving them the tools and strategies they need to cope with this unexpected life stressor, increase social support, and enhance their overall quality of life and well-being.

Keywords

male infertilitymasculinityqualitative researchonline discussion boardsfertility counselorsgender socializationculturestresscopinghealthcare professionals
Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide , pp. 153 - 161
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Zegers-Hochschild, F, Adamson, GD, Dyer, S, et al. The international glossary on infertility and fertility care. Fertil Steril 2017;108(3):393–406.Google Scholar
Mehta, A, Nangia, AK, Dupree, JM, Smith, JF. Limitations and barriers in access to care for male factor infertility. Fertil Steril 2016;105(5):1128–1137.Google Scholar
Agarwal, A, Mulgund, A, Hamada, A, Chyatte, MR. A unique view on male infertility around the globe. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2015;13(1):1–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inhorn, MC, Wentzell, EA. Embodying emergent masculinities: men engaging with reproductive and sexual health technologies in the Middle East and Mexico. Am Ethnol 2011;38(4):801–815.Google Scholar
Dolan, A, Lomas, T, Ghobara, T, Hartshorne, G. ‘It’s like taking a bit of masculinity away from you’: towards a theoretical understanding of men’s experiences of infertility. Sociol Health Illness 2017;39(6):878–892.Google Scholar
Wischmann, T, Thorn, P. (Male) infertility: what does it mean to men? New evidence from quantitative and qualitative studies. Reprod BioMed Online 2013;27(3):236–243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naab, F, Kwashie, AA. ‘I don’t experience any insults, but my wife does’: the concerns of men with infertility in Ghana. S Afr J Obstet Gynaecol 2018;24(2):45–48.Google Scholar
Petok, WD. Infertility counseling (or the lack thereof) of the forgotten male partner. Fertil Steril 2015;104(2):260–266.Google Scholar
Babore, A, Stuppia, L, Trumello, C, Candelori, C, Antonucci, I. Male factor infertility and lack of openness about infertility as risk factors for depressive symptoms in males undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment in Italy. Fertil Steril 2017;107(4):1041–1047.Google Scholar
Culley, L, Hudson, N, Lohan, M. Where are all the men? The marginalization of men in social scientific research on infertility. Reprod BioMed Online 2013;27(3):225–235.Google Scholar
Martins, MV, Basto-Pereira, M, Pedro, J, et al. Male psychological adaptation to unsuccessful medically assisted reproduction treatments: a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update 2016;22(4):466–478.Google Scholar
Greil, AL, Slauson-Blevins, K, McQuillan, J, Lowry, MH, Burch, AR, Shreffler, KM. Relationship satisfaction among infertile couples: implications of gender and self-identification. J Family Issues 2018;39(5):1304–1325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wischmann, T. ‘Your count is zero’ – Counselling the infertile man. Hum Fertil 2013;16(1):35–39.Google Scholar
Hanna, E, Gough, B. Experiencing male infertility: a review of the qualitative research literature. SAGE Open 2015;5(4):1–9.Google Scholar
Hanna, E, Gough, B. The impact of infertility on men’s work and finances: findings from a qualitative questionnaire study. Gender Work Organization 2020;27(4):581–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arya, ST, Dibb, B. The experience of infertility treatment: the male perspective. Hum Fertil 2016;19(4):242–248.Google Scholar
Hanna, E, Gough, B. Emoting infertility online: a qualitative analysis of men’s forum posts. Health (London) 2016;20(4):363–382.Google Scholar
Richard, J, Badillo-Amberg, I, Zelkowitz, P. “So much of this story could be me”: men’s use of support in online infertility discussion boards. Am J Mens Health 2017;11(3):663–673.Google Scholar
Hanna, E, Gough, B. The social construction of male infertility: a qualitative questionnaire study of men with a male factor infertility diagnosis. Sociol Health Illness 2020;42(3):465–480.Google Scholar
Hammarberg, K, Collins, V, Holden, C, Young, K, McLachlan, R. Men’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviours relating to fertility. Hum Reprod Update 2017;23(4):458–480.Google Scholar
Daumler, D, Chan, P, Lo, KC, Takefman, J, Zelkowitz, P. Men’s knowledge of their own fertility: a population-based survey examining the awareness of factors that are associated with male infertility. Hum Reprod 2016;31(12):2781–2790.Google Scholar
Grace, B, Shawe, J, Johnson, S, Stephenson, J. You did not turn up … I did not realise I was invited … : understanding male attitudes towards engagement in fertility and reproductive health discussions. Hum Reprod Open 2019;2019(3):1–7.Google Scholar
Fisher, J, Hammarberg, K. Psychological aspects of infertility among men. In: Simoni, M, Huhtaniemi, I, Eds. Endocrinology of the Testis and Male Reproduction. Switzerland: Springer, 2017, 1–31.Google Scholar
European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Routine Psychosocial Care in Infertility and Medically Assisted Reproduction – A Guide for Fertility Staff [Internet]. 2015 [cited June 26, 2021]. Available from: www.eshre.eu/Guidelines-and-Legal/Guidelines/Psychosocial-care-guideline [last accessed June 16, 2022].Google Scholar
Ockhuijsen, HDL, van Smeden, M, van den Hoogen, A, Boivin, J. Validation study of the SCREENIVF: an instrument to screen women or men on risk for emotional maladjustment before the start of a fertility treatment. Fertil Steril 2017;107(6):1370–1379.e5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boivin, J, Takefman, J, Braverman, A. The fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) tool: development and general psychometric properties. Hum Reprod 2011;26(8):2084–2091.Google Scholar
Pattyn, E, Verhaeghe, M, Bracke, P. The gender gap in mental health service use. Social Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2015;50(7):1089–1095.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taubman-Ben-Ari, O, Skvirsky, V, Bar Shua, E, Horowitz, E. Satisfaction in life among fathers following fertility treatment. J Reprod Infant Psychol 2017;35(4):334–341.Google Scholar
Schanz, S, Häfner, HM, Ulmer, A, Fierlbeck, G. Quality of life in men with involuntary childlessness: long-term follow-up. Andrologia 2014;46(7):731–737.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×