Table 2.
The theme, categories and subcategories of the infertility stigma concept
| Themes | Categories | Sub-categories |
|---|---|---|
| Stigma profile | Verbal stigma | Sarcasm and humiliation |
| Curiosity | ||
| Social stigma | Discrimination | |
| Negative burden of infertility | ||
| Same sex stigma | Women against women | |
| Sexism by women | ||
| Self-stigma | Negative feelings | Bitter feeling of infertility |
| Sadness and regret | ||
| Fear and concern | ||
| Devaluation | Incomplete woman | |
| Transformation of values | ||
| Low self-esteem | ||
| Low self-efficacy | ||
| Defensive mechanism | Escaping from stigma | Looking for someone to blame |
| Justifying the infertility | ||
| Acceptance | Getting along with the problem | |
| Unchangeable fate | ||
| Infertility behind the mask | Secrecy | |
| Silence | ||
| Balancing | Empowered women | Resilience |
| Optimism | ||
| Pressure levers | Supportive/Unsupportive husband | |
| Peer support | ||
| Supportive family | ||
| Pressure from husband’s family | ||