Infertility & Psychiatric Problems Due To It!

If a couple has been trying to have a child for 12 months via regular intercourse, but still not able to bear a child, then this is referred to as Infertility. Having a child, or fertility, is one of the biggest pleasures in the life of a couple. Most of the times, a child is considered as the next logical step after marriage. However, if a couple is not able to have a child due to infertility, then it can lead to all sort of psychiatric problems.

Despite the fact that infertility treatment has advanced by leaps and bounds, Infertility still impacts a lot of couples. There is a general notion nowadays that Infertility is on the rise. However, that is not the case; the reason that there seem to be a higher number of infertile couples is simply because more people are now in the childbearing age.

Who Causes Infertility: Men or Women?

Here is one statistic that we need to be clear about: there is no clear trend towards who is more infertile: men or women. In fact, in around 40% of the cases, infertility is caused by male, in 40% it is by female, and in the rest, it is either due to both the partners, or unidentified issue. This is an important statistic to know, especially in a country like India, where women are mostly blamed for the infertility.

Causes of Infertility:

There are a lot of causes that can lead to infertility. Here are just a few of those:

Reasons for Male Infertility:

1. Sexual problems that lead to problem in delivering sperms.

2. Excessive Smoking, drinking, or exposure to pesticides etc.

3. Inadequate sperm production. This could be due to genetic issues, medical problems like diabetes, or undescended testicles

4. Sometimes cancer, or the cancer treatment, can also lead to infertility.

Reasons for Female Infertility:

1. Sometimes there might be ovulation problems which can lead to problems in which eggs are not released from ovaries

2. Blockage of Fallopian Tube

3. Apart from the above, women are also affected due to cancer and environmental factors or lifestyle choices like excessive smoking.

Psychiatric Problems Due to Infertility:

Infertility can cause a lot of Psychiatric problems. Some of these are:

1. First and foremost, this can lead to a constant frustration in the couples. They might feel lacking and incapable and keep holding themselves, or each other responsible for it.

2. Women, in particular, might be more impacted by it. Especially in a country like India, women are almost looked down upon, even if they might not be the one responsible for infertility.

3. Relationships can suffer as the couples might get into a constant bickering, or even fighting, due to infertility.

4. Not just relationships among couples, but the relationships with family and friends might also get impacted. The affected couple might deliberately try to stay away from social gatherings.

5. Sometimes this can lead to constant stress and anxiety, which can catapult into other serious health problems.

6. This can also lead to financial problems as the couple might spend money on falsely advertised Infertility treatments, instead of consulting a good infertility treatment specialist.

How to Avoid Psychological Issues?

Infertility is already a stressful situation, and having psychological issues can further escalate the problem.

The best way to avoid such issues is for the couples to support each other during this phase. Even though one of them could be responsible for this combined situation, still the other partner must understand that the situation is not caused by choice, and both the partners are being equally affected by it.

Furthermore, whenever going for a consultation with an expert, both the partners should go, so that the partner can understand what other partner is going through.

Conclusion:

Infertility can cause many psychological problems, but they should be dealt with maturely. Couples need to understand that ultimately, they need to support each other, as they might not be able to get similar support from society or even friends. Being there for each other during this stressful situation can go a long way in getting over this.