OBJECTIVE: To describe and interpret the experiences of and adversities faced by infertile Jordanian women as described from their own perspectives. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive design. SETTING: The women were interviewed at a nonprofit women's organization in the north of Jordan. The organization focuses on empowerment and health issues. PATIENT(S): This study included a purposive sample of 25 infertile Jordanian women who were unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a minimum of 1 year, and who were receiving treatment for infertility. INTERVENTION(S): Face-to-face, in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted, audiotaped, and transcribed using thematic analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Outcomes were measured using thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. RESULT(S): Four key adversity themes emerged from the data: the adversity of incomplete being, the social adversity of being infertile, the adversity of another wife, and the adversity of changes in the marital relationship. CONCLUSION(S): Jordanian women are seriously affected by infertility and experience personal, social, and marital adversities, which affect their well-being. These adversities need to be conceptualized within a framework that can be used to empower and counsel infertile women in all aspects of life.
OBJECTIVE: To describe and interpret the experiences of and adversities faced by infertile Jordanian women as described from their own perspectives. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive design. SETTING: The women were interviewed at a nonprofit women's organization in the north of Jordan. The organization focuses on empowerment and health issues. PATIENT(S): This study included a purposive sample of 25 infertile Jordanian women who were unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a minimum of 1 year, and who were receiving treatment for infertility. INTERVENTION(S): Face-to-face, in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted, audiotaped, and transcribed using thematic analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Outcomes were measured using thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. RESULT(S): Four key adversity themes emerged from the data: the adversity of incomplete being, the social adversity of being infertile, the adversity of another wife, and the adversity of changes in the marital relationship. CONCLUSION(S): Jordanian women are seriously affected by infertility and experience personal, social, and marital adversities, which affect their well-being. These adversities need to be conceptualized within a framework that can be used to empower and counsel infertile women in all aspects of life.