An Infertility Diagnosis Can Be As Stressful As A Cancer Diagnosis
Infertility is a condition that’s still largely taboo in public conversation, even though 1 in 10 women experience it. Or, when it is discussed, other people offer (mostly unwanted) advice: “Just relax! Adopt a baby! Try this, try that.”
Infertility just doesn’t garner the same sympathy, or as much research money, as, say, cancer. Even though it’s been proven that experiencing infertility is just as stressful as having cancer. One study surveyed a group of women who suffered from various serious medical conditions, like infertility, chronic pain, cancer, hypertension, HIV, and cardiac rehabilitation. The infertile women’s global scores on the psychological questionnaire, as well as their depression and anxiety scores, were equivalent to the cancer patients’ scores. Other research from the past couple of years shows that the depression rate among infertile women is 28-42% and the anxiety rate is 36%.