Does infertility affect the quality of life of infertile women? A study in a gynecology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata

Abstract

Background: Infertility, which is an inability to conceive after a prolonged time period, is a neglected domain of reproductive health. Infertility affects couples physically and psychologically and leads to discrimination and stigma in society, especially to women. Various sociodemographic, physiological, and environmental attributes and access to health care may interplay with the quality of life (QoL) of the women afflicted with infertility. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the QoL and its predictors among women diagnosed with infertility. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 247 women diagnosed with infertility and receiving treatment for at least 6 months at a gynecology outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) score of total ferti-QoL was 65.76 (±11.15). Differential mean scores were observed in domains of ferti-QoL such as emotional (58.49 ± 12.75), body/mind (47.67 ± 16.14), relational (78.36 ± 15.51), social (60.71 ± 12.43), core (61.31 ± 12.71), environment (80.09 ± 10.77), tolerability (70.95 ± 11.97), and treatment (76.44 ± 10.36). Nearly half of them also reported abuse in terms of verbal (50.6%) and physical (6.9%). On multivariable analysis, unsatisfactory QoL was significantly associated with age above 32 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.76, confidence interval [CI] = 1.07-7.12), increasing duration of infertility (AOR = 1.46, CI = 1.17-1.82), and presence of chronic diseases (AOR = 2.21, CI = 1.01-4.83). Conclusion: There is, till date, no provision of management for women suffering from infertility in the Reproductive and Child Health Programme. The problem of infertility must be considered as a public health problem, and all policymakers, health administrators, and other stakeholders should come forward with exemplary guidelines specially targeted for providing relief to these affected women in every stratum of the health-care system.