Fertility status and symptoms in childbearing couples.
Journal Article
The symptoms of 58 pregnant couples--37 with a history of infertility and 21 without a history of infertility--were compared. The Symptomatology Inventory, a checklist of 42 common physical and psychological symptoms of pregnancy, was completed by each spouse from months 4 to 9 of pregnancy. For purposes of analysis, the individual symptoms were grouped into three categories: physical symptoms, negative affective symptoms, and positive affective symptoms. Although the infertile pregnant couples did not experience more symptoms than fertile couples, their pattern of reporting pregnancy-related symptoms was quite different. In terms of both number and type of symptoms, infertile spouses' symptoms tended to be positively related. Compared to fertile couples, the infertile couples experienced symptoms globally and were more consistent in the number of symptoms reported by each spouse. Additional research is needed to confirm these findings and to determine the implications of these differences for childbearing and the martial relationship.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Holditch-Davis, D; Black, BP; Sandelowski, M; Harris, BG; Belyea, M
Published Date
- October 1995
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 18 / 5
Start / End Page
- 417 - 426
PubMed ID
- 7676075
Pubmed Central ID
- 7676075
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1098-240X
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0160-6891
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1002/nur.4770180507
Language
- eng