Impact of infertility on relationships

Impact of infertility on couples

Infertility either brings couples closer and makes their relationship strong and supportive or starts blaming each other and causes tension and stress. Infertility affects relationships in the same way that it affects individuals.

Below are some of the typical infertility-related relationship issues as well as steps that may help to deal with the situation:-

Stop the blame game

Blaming and feeling of bitterness in a relationship can leave a painful scar in a couple’s life. When a couple is diagnosed with infertility, they separate themselves from their partner or even family. Accepting infertility is difficult for couples, you start to feel why you were thrown into a situation where nothing seems to be working.

Sexual stress while trying

For couples, sexual intercourse and intimacy define their bond and love for each other. But when diagnosed with infertility, sexual intercourse becomes stressful and eventually tiresome because they start to time intercourse for their most fertile moment. Though timed intercourse is utilised to get pregnant, research has identified an increase in sexual problems in men and women.

Stress in personal life might lead to problems and tensions in your overall relationship because sex is considered a way to feel closer to your partner.

Saying no to seek help

Some couples are hesitant in getting help, but the problems arise when one of them wants to go ahead and look for other options while the other prefers to give more time and still wants to try naturally. This disagreement can result in a brawl and misunderstandings.

Discussing your difficulties with others always helps, but it is a decision you’ll have to make together. But things could get complicated if you don’t discuss your concerns and fears.

The unwillingness to share could be due to shame or humiliation on the part of the spouse. They may believe that discussing infertility is too intimate.

Misunderstandings, feelings of resentment, and constant tension

Both the partners have to be on one page because different opinions and thought processes can lead to misunderstandings and tension.

Everyone uniquely deals with stress. Gender disparities in how people cope with infertility because misunderstandings can arise from these disparities.

Do couples end their relationship over infertility?

Though every couple is different and every couple’s connection is different from the other but according to some research, couples who do not conceive after fertility treatments are three times as likely to divorce or take a break than those who do.

What can infertility do to a relationship/couple?

In a marriage, infertility can lead to loneliness, depression, days and months full of stress and tensions, and fear of financial hardships.

When is conceiving a problem of concern in a relationship?

When a couple has been trying to get pregnant for more than a year that is when the problem starts to arise. When a woman reaches the age of 35, attempts and chances to conceive drop, and she is diagnosed with infertility. Women above the age of 40 should be evaluated before trying.