Putting things in context: fertility-related quality of life and cultural beliefs in Chinese women undergoing IVF Treatment

Abstract

Past studies have found IVF and its negative outcome could be stressful and affect QoL among infertile women. The FertiQoL scale was developed by Boivin her team (2011) to measure fertility related quality of life, and had been validated with Western samples of people experencing fertility problems. Llittle is known about the fertility related quality of life in Chinese population, where the society's collective nature attibute different importance to childbearing in the family. This study attempted to create a quality of life snapshot of Chinese women undergoing infertility treatments, and explore the role of cultural beliefs of childbearing in relation to the different aspects of life. A cross-sectional survey consisting of FertiQoL, questions about Chinese cultural beliefs of childbearing, and demographic characteristics was conducted from February to November 2014 in a university-affiliated hospital. Participants were recruited through individual invitation at the assisted reproduction clinic. A total of 465 patients were approached after their first IVF cycle was found unsuccessful. Of them, 198 (response rate: 42.58%) have completed the self-administered questionnaires. The mean age of participants was 37.0 (SD = 3.5), duration of marriage was 7.4 years (3.7), and duration of infertility was 4.1 years. The majority of them received tertiary education and had fulltime job. Mean scores of Total FertiQoL, Core FertiQoL, and Treatment FertiQoL were 63.4 (12.5), 64.1 (14.5), and 61.9 (13.2). Both Total and Core scores were higher than that from a Western sample reported by Boivin et al (2011) (t = 8.10 and 8.36, p < .01) while no difference was found in Treatment score (t = 1.41, n.s.). Total and Core FertiQoL were found to be negatively associated with identification with Chinese cultural beliefs about childbearing (r=-.446, p < .05). This study sheds light on the quality of life of Chinese infertile women after unsuccessful IVF treatment. Identification with Chinese beliefs of childbearing, which emphasizes the patrilineal culture, was associated with worse QoL. The findings underline the importance of cultural sensitivity in addressing fertility-related issues in order to better facilitate psychosocial support at the clinic.