Midwives' perceptions regarding infertility and tolerance for infertility treatment

Abstract

Purpose
The aim of the present study was to clarify the perceptions regarding infertility and the tolerance for infertility treatment of midwives caring for women who had become pregnant following treatment for infertility.
Methods
Subjects were nurse midwives with at least one year's clinical experience who were engaged in the care of pregnant women following infertility treatment at medical facilities throughout Japan that provide care from infertility treatment through to delivery. Subjects were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire survey. The measurement instruments were the "perceptions regarding infertility," "tolerance for infertility treatment," and "background" sections of the questionnaire. Factor analysis was conducted and the following two factors were extracted from the section on "perceptions regarding infertility" (18 items): "acceptance of a life without childbirth" and "encouragement to have children and undergo treatment." Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.665 for both factors. The following four factors were extracted from the section on "tolerance for infertility treatment" (20 items): "approval in general of treatment involving a donor," "personal acceptance of treatment involving a donor," "personal acceptance of treatment between spouses," and "approval in general of treatment between spouses." Cronbach's alpha coefficient for these factors ranged from 0.858 to 0.947. A total of 449 valid responses were included in the analysis.
Results
With regard to midwives' "perceptions regarding infertility", of the two factors, "acceptance of a life without childbirth" received a significantly higher score than "encouragement to have children and undergo treatment" (p<0.01). This perception was more strongly observed in nurse midwives with no experience of infertility nursing or of their own infertility. There were significant differences among the four factors that were extracted from the section on "tolerance for infertility treatment" (p<0.05). Midwives were more tolerant of treatment between spouses than of treatment involving a donor and a tendency was seen towards tolerance for infertility treatment between spouses that more closely resembled natural reproduction. In addition, nurse midwives who offered "encouragement to have children and undergo treatment" were tolerant of treatment between spouses.
Conclusion
Midwives differed from members of the public and infertile couples in that they had low tolerance of infertility treatment involving a donor, not only with regard to whether or not they would personally use such treatment, but also as a general opinion. Their perception of acceptance of a life without childbirth also differed depending on whether or not their background included experience of infertility nursing or their own infertility.