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BMC Women's Health
Published in: BMC Women's Health 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Infertility | Research article

The social stigma of infertile women in Zhejiang Province, China: a questionnaire-based study

Authors: Fang Zhang, Yan Lv, Yanting Wang, Xuzhen Cheng, Yuying Yan, Ye Zhang, Yue Wang

Published in: BMC Women's Health | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Infertile women often face stigmatization worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the stigma against infertile women in China and to analyze its influencing factors.

Methods

Of 270 women who were randomly selected from patients receiving adjuvant fertility treatment in Zhejiang Province, China, 254 successfully completed the general information questionnaire, disease information questionnaire, and Chinese version of the infertility stigma scale (ISS). The ISS contained 27 positively worded items, each of which was graded on a 5-point Likert-type scale.

Results

The total stigma score of female infertility patients was 66.39 ± 21.96. By dividing the number of items, the average score for each ISS item was 2.13 ± 0.81, indicating the presence of stigma. Among the four ISS factors, the social withdrawal score was the highest (2.64 ± 1.05), whereas the family stigma score was the lowest (1.88 ± 0.88). Multiple stepwise regression analysis further revealed that the duration of infertility and monthly income were important predictors of the stigma of infertile women.

Conclusions

Infertile women experience moderate to high levels of stigma in Zhejiang, China. Thus, supportive psychological interventions and public education are required to change patients’ cognition and assist patients in coping with negative experiences.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The social stigma of infertile women in Zhejiang Province, China: a questionnaire-based study
Authors
Fang Zhang
Yan Lv
Yanting Wang
Xuzhen Cheng
Yuying Yan
Ye Zhang
Yue Wang
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Women's Health / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6874
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01246-z

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