Title:The Effect of Counseling on Stress in Infertile Women Admitted to an Infertility Center in Hamadan City, Iran
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Batul Khodakarami, Seyedeh Zahra Masoumi*, Arezoo Shayan, Hasan Ahmadnia, Fatemeh Dastgerdian and Sogra Rabiei
Affiliation:Department of Midwifery, Mother and Child Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Department of Midwifery, Mother and Child Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Department of Midwifery, Mother and Child Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Department of Midwifery, Mother and Child Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Clinical Research Development Unit of Fatemieh Hospital, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan
Keywords:Counseling, stress management, infertile women, counseling, stress, management, infertility, women, Iran.
Abstract:
Background: Infertility can result in many problems for couples. In most cases, the stress
and anxiety of treating infertility can reduce fertility and affect marital disputes. The provision of
counseling and informing can reduce stress and improve couples’ relationships and positively influence
infertility treatment in many cases. The present study, therefore, was conducted to evaluate the
effect of counseling on the stress of infertile women admitted to an infertility center in Hamadan
City, Iran.
Methods: The present study was performed as a two-group randomized clinical trial with two pretest
and posttest stages on 104 eligible women admitted to Fatemieh Hospital in Hamadan during
2017-18. Members of the intervention group received group counseling with a cognitive-behavioral
approach to stress reduction in four 1-h sessions during the 4 weeks. Data were obtained using
demographic characteristics and Harry’s Stress Assessment questionnaires. Data were analyzed
using SPSS 21 software, paired and independent t-test, and analysis of covariance at a significance
level of < 0.05.
Results: Mean stress scores were 181.82 ± 15.9 and 189.11 ± 2.1 in the pre-intervention stage, and
174.6 ± 29.6 and in the test group 78.10 ± 1.3 in the post-intervention phase in the test and control
groups, respectively. High-stress levels were observed in both groups before the intervention. Independent
t-test revealed that mean stress scores were significantly different in the two groups at both
pre- and post-intervention stages (P < 0.05). The paired t-test indicated a significantly reduced stress
score in the intervention group (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Stress management counseling in infertile women can play a positive and effective role
in stress mitigation and promotion of their mental health. Therefore, the effect of this counseling can
be more reliably emphasized on improving the effectiveness of infertility treatment.
