Wish for a child and infertility: study on 116 couples. I. Interview and psychodynamic hypotheses

Abstract

The authors wish to stress the importance of the psychosomatic approach in the investigation of infertility. Following the hypothesis that infertile patients may present emotional conflicts with regard to the wish of having a child, psychodynamic interviews were carried out with 116 infertile couples concomitantly with their first consultation at the Sterility Department. The psychological findings show that severe conflicts with regard to wish of parenthood were present in the majority of the female patients and especially in those without clinically defined organic infertility factors. The relationship between clinical diagnosis and psychological outcome was less evident in the male partners. The 11 pregnancies which occurred in the study group are also discussed with regard to the motivational quality of the wish of child of these patients. A recommendation is made that psychological interviews should be included in any infertility investigation as a matter of routine and that therapeutic procedures should take into account both the clinical and psychological diagnosis to prevent unsuccessful situations.