Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2011 Oct;54(10):611-617. 10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.10.611.

Current status of infertility counseling in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. hwangjh@hanyang.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Preventive Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
The recent fertility decline deepened concern about the emotional side of infertility problems as well as social, ethical, legal and psychological aspect and increased awareness of the importance of consultation. In this study, we evaluated the current condition of infertility counseling for couples participated in the project supporting infertile couples by Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea.
METHODS
Postal survey was administered to infertility couples who received medical cost support in 2006 and 2008. We investigated 11 different of infertility counseling through the postal survey.
RESULTS
The most common number was two or three sessions of counseling before infertility treatment (409 cases in 2006, 534 cases in 2008, respectively). The most common counselor to infertile couples was a physician, (1,009 cases in 2006, 879 cases in 2008, respectively). The most common form of counseling was verbal counseling in the office of the physician to the patient or couple alone and psychological testing was not performed in 1,133 cases among 1,182 cases in 2006 and 1,105 among 1,227 in 2008 respectively. One of the most stressful events during treatment was results announcement and the most helpful person was the spouse.
CONCLUSION
Many infertile couples who received the psychological counseling answered that it was helpful in stabilizing the emotional status of patients and professional psychological counseling of infertile couples with access as a teams will be needed. Further investigations are needed to study the effects that various infertility counseling methods can promote the infertility treatment process and outcomes.

Keyword

Infertility; Infertility counseling; In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer

MeSH Terms

Counseling
Family Characteristics
Fertility
Humans
Infertility
Korea
Life Change Events
Psychological Tests

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Distribution of age of entire participants.

  • Fig. 2 Duration of infertility.

  • Fig. 3 Numbers of counseling before initiation of in vitro fertilizationembryo transfer treatment.

  • Fig. 4 The most stressful event during infertility treatment.

  • Fig. 5 The most helpful people during infertility treatment.


Cited by  3 articles

A Survey on the Current Status and Demands of Infertility Counseling Towards the Development of an Infertility Counseling Delivery System
Young Sun Lee, Jung-Hye Kwon
J Korean Soc Matern Child Health. 2020;24(1):52-63.    doi: 10.21896/jksmch.2020.24.1.52.

The Focus Group Interview on Infertility Experts for the Development of Infertility Counseling System
Seung Mi Choi, Young Sun Lee
J Korean Soc Matern Child Health. 2020;24(1):26-39.    doi: 10.21896/jksmch.2020.24.1.26.

A Study on Counseling Experiences of Nurses of Infertility Centers Using a Qualitative Research Method
Jummi Park, Nayeon Shin
J Korean Soc Matern Child Health. 2020;24(4):221-233.    doi: 10.21896/jksmch.2020.24.4.221.


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