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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on April 7, 2007
Human Reproduction 2007 22(6):1662-1668; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem057
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Decision-making about seeking medical advice in an internet sample of women trying to get pregnant

Laura Bunting and Jacky Boivin1

School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK

1 Correspondence address: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK. Tel: +4429 2087 6707; Fax: +4429 2087 4858; E-mail: boivin{at}cardiff.ac.uk

INTRODUCTION: In light of the near universal desire to become a parent one would expect most people to seek medical advice if they were experiencing difficulties conceiving. Yet less than 55% do so and we sought to understand more about this paradox by comparing the psychosocial profile and decision-making of women not yet engaged in the medical process to that of those who had consulted.

METHODS: A Fertility Decision-Making Questionnaire was designed and posted on a website dedicated to women trying to conceive.

RESULTS: A total of 426 women completed the questionnaire, 56% had not yet consulted a doctor about conceiving (non-consulter, NC). Women who had sought treatment had more positive treatment beliefs, and a greater willingness to know if a problem existed, than those who had not yet consulted. Almost 20% of NC women already met the medical definition of infertility and this subgroup had a greater fear of discovering a problem and of being labelled infertile than other women in the study.

CONCLUSIONS: Seeking medical advice for fertility problems is mainly associated with what women know or want to know about their fertility and their emotional reactions to that knowledge. Negative reactions can substantially delay seeking help in 20% of women.

Key words: decision-making/help-seeking/infertility/psychology/treatment-seeking

Submitted on October 6, 2006; resubmitted on January 14, 2007; resubmitted on February 6, 2007; accepted on February 8, 2007.


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