Browsing by Subject "Infertility"

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    Heidegger's Hermeneutic Phenomenology and the Application to Ghanaian Women's Experiences of Unsuccessful Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) Treatment
    (2020) Amoah, Vida Maame Kissiwaa; Fouché, Nicola
    Ghanaian women experiencing infertility problem, have been seeking invitro fertilisation treatment in the quest for motherhood, however there is a dearth in the nursing studies researching this phenomenon. It appears that the concept and meanings of infertility is inadequately explored from the perspective of women experiences following unsuccessful invitro fertilisation treatment. In particular, it is vital to be knowledgeable about the challenges women encounter when undergoing IVF treatment and following unsuccessful procedure. The study sought to gain a deeper knowledge and to understand the meanings women struggling with infertility and its treatment experience and how invitro fertilisation treatment failure affects women in their everyday life. To unearth the women perception and meaning attributed to their experiences of unsuccessful infertility treatment, Heidegger's philosophy of phenomenology underpinned this study. A semistructured opening question and further probing questions were used to gather information which was reduced to sub-themes and main themes which captured the participant's lived experiences of unsuccessful invitro fertilisation treatment. I adopted van Manen's (1990) six steps of research activities as a structure to unravel the participants' phenomenological conversations. Applying Heidegger's concept of the three modes of existence (Existenze): authenticity, inauthenticity and undifferentiatedness, four major themes were identified: 1. Seeking wholistic and authentic care- authenticity 2. Facing up to the Angst- inauthenticity 3. The vulnerable self - inauthenticity 4. Living with infertility (being-in-the-world-of-motherless) - undifferentiatedness The participants' phenomenological conversations and their stories have revealed a range of challenges Ghanaian women who seek invitro fertilisation treatment go through. The study contribute significantly by giving insight to the painful experiences Ghanaian women go through when seeking invitro fertilisation treatment and has given a voice to how assisted reproductive technologies are currently experienced in the Ghanaian context. From the women's narrative, it appeared that their emotional and informational needs were not being met and were not being cared for as expected. The findings provide some direction regarding the needs of women experiencing infertility for information, support and advocacy in their pursuit of assisted reproductive technology services in Ghana. There is a critical need to simplify invitro fertilisation treatment and provision of safe, affordable procedure so that the average Ghanaian women can access it.
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    Somewhere there's a silver lining : women's experiences of infertility on the Cape Flats
    (2008) Davids, Bianca; Salo, Elaine
    In the communities of the Cape Flats, it is expected that all women will bear children and become mothers. Motherhood serves as a social and cultural indicator of femininity and enables women to access social and economic networks that knit them into community. The social and cultural valorization of motherhood in these communities has informed the powerful stigmatization of infertility (or the involuntary nonconformance to motherhood). The stigma associated with infertility affects women in particular, because the inability to bear children is commonly perceived to be a woman's problem. This study explores the cultural constructions of infertility. It examines in particular, the diverse cultural meanings and the stigma associated with infertility. The examination of these cultural meanings challenges the notion that infertility should only be examined in the biomedical realm. My research was conducted over a seven month period with six infertile women and with women who have borne children from different areas on the Cape Flats. The infertile women were the primary informants. Other informants included the mothers with whom the focus group was conducted and specialist informants who were healthcare professionals. The participants were recruited through the primary health care clinic in Manenberg, the network of community newspapers, The Daily Voice and through my own social network. Qualitative research methods were used. The study also used participatory research methods involved because the participants played an active role in the construction of the research process and interview schedules. The primary information used was obtained from in-depth interviews and journals kept by the infertile women. For comparative purposes, a focus group was conducted with a group of mothers. The study illustrates that on the Cape Flats, infertility is constructed as a major cultural and social problem for women. The stigma attached to infertility draws its power from the social and cultural meanings associated with inability of infertile women to live up to the expectation that every adult woman will become a mother. The effects of the social stigma of infertility are especially profound. As I show, bio-medicine does offer some solution, but only to the few who can afford it.
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    Open Access
    Somewhere there's a silver lining: women's experiences of infertility on the Cape Flats
    (2008) Davids, Bianca; Salo, Elaine
    In the communities of the Cape Flats, it is expected that all women will bear children and become mothers. Motherhood serves as a social and cultural indicator of femininity and enables women to access social and economic networks that knit them into community. The social and cultural valorization of motherhood in these communities has informed the powerful stigmatization of infertility ( or the involuntary nonconformance to motherhood). The stigma associated with infertility affects women in particular, because the inability to bear children is commonly perceived to be a woman's problem. This study explores the cultural constructions of infertility. It examines in particular, the diverse cultural meanings and the stigma associated with infertility. The examination of these cultural meanings challenges the notion that infertility should only be examined in the biomedical realm. My research was conducted over a seven month period with six infertile women and with women who have borne children from different areas on the Cape Flats. The infertile women were the primary informants. Other informants included the mothers with whom the focus group was conducted and specialist informants who were healthcare professionals. The participants were recruited through the primary health care clinic in Manenberg, the network of community newspapers, The Daily Voice and through my own social network. Qualitative research methods were used. The study also used participatory research methods involved because the participants played an active role in the construction of the research process and interview schedules. The primary information used was obtained from in-depth interviews and journals kept by the infertile women. For comparative purposes, a focus group was conducted with a group of mothers. The study illustrates that on the Cape Flats, infertility is constructed as a major cultural and social problem for women. The stigma attached to infertility draws its power from the social and cultural meanings associated with inability of infertile women to live up to the expectation that every adult woman will become a mother. The effects of the social stigma of infertility are especially profound. As I show, bio-medicine does offer some solution, but only to the few who can afford it.