Table 2.
Quality of life
| Questions1 | All women | Primary/Secondary infertility | All women | Subgroup: primary infertility | Subgroup: secondary infertility | Subgroup: still birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Number of participants |
n=25 |
n=18/4 |
n=25 |
n=18 |
n=4 |
n=3 |
| |
%agree2 |
%agree2 |
mean (SD)3 |
mean (SD)3 |
mean (SD)3 |
mean (SD)3 |
| Not having been able to mother a child is distressing to me. |
76 |
83/50 |
3.8 (1.1) |
4.0 (1.1) |
3.0 (1.4) |
3.7(0.6) |
| I feel guilty for having let my partner down. |
48 |
50/50 |
3.0 (1.4) |
2.9 (1.5) |
2.8 (1.5) |
3.3(0.6) |
| I feel hurt when others make remarks about our childlessness. |
48 |
45/50 |
3.1 (1.1) |
3.2 (1.1) |
2.8 (1.5) |
3.3 (1.2) |
| I feel like a failure because of our problems conceiving. |
48 |
50/25 |
2.8 (1.5) |
2.9 (1.5) |
2.0 (1.4) |
3.7 (0.6) |
| My partner and I have less sex when I am not ovulating. |
44 |
50/25 |
3.0 (1.4) |
3.2 (1.4) |
2.5 (1.3) |
2.3 (1.5) |
| I feel under pressure when I am ovulating. |
40 |
45/25 |
3.1 (1.2) |
3.2 (1.4) |
2.8 (1.7) |
3.0 (1.0) |
| I feel down. |
48 |
33/75 |
3.0 (1.1) |
2.9 (1.1) |
3.3 (1.5) |
3.3 (1.2) |
| My life revolves around trying to have children. |
36 |
39/67 |
2.8 (1.2) |
3.0 (1.3) |
1.8 (0.5) |
3.3 (1.2) |
| I feel less satisfied after sex than I used to before we were trying to conceive. |
40 |
39/50 |
2.6 (1.3) |
2.7 (1.3) |
2.8 (1.5) |
2.3 (1.5) |
| I consider infertility a personal shortcoming. |
36 |
39/- |
2.8 (1.4) |
2.8 (1.4) |
1.8 (1.0) |
4.0 (1.0) |
| I feel upset when I see a baby pusher/stroller. |
36 |
33/25 |
2.7 (1.3) |
2.6 (1.4) |
2.5 (1.7) |
3.7 (0.6) |
| Planning of our future has been hindered by our difficulties conceiving. | 28 | 33/- | 2.6 (1.4) | 2.8 (1.5) | 1.5 (0.6) | 2.7 (1.2) |
SD, standard deviation.
1Table summarises only those questions of the 29-item questionnaire to which more than 30% of the primary infertility subgroup responded with agree or strongly agree.
2Combined responses ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’.
3Each item of the quality of life questionnaire was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = ‘strongly agree’ to 5= ‘strongly disagree’. Greater mean values are associated with lower quality of life.