"I couldn't think that far": infertile women's decision making about multifetal reduction.
In this phenomenological study women's experiences regarding their decisions to undergo or forgo multifetal reduction of their higher-order multiple pregnancies were explored. Seven women who had conceived higher-order multiple pregnancies as the result of in vitro fertilization were interviewed. Four participants accepted reduction, whereas three participants declined. Three themes were discerned: (a) the presence of infertility as a barrier to contemplating hyperfertility; (b) multiple-birth pregnancy as yet another form of loss for infertile women; and (c) the lasting effects of having made the decision.
Collopy
Kate Sullivan
KS
Department of Nursing, University of New Hampshire, Durham 03824, USA.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018607:Pregnancy Reduction, Multifetal / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States