The Effects Of Mindfulness Therapy On Stigma In Female Infertility

Objective:The purpose of the study is to explore the prevalence and influencing factors on stigma in infertile women,and also to investigate the effects of mindfulness therapy on stigma in female infertility,in order to provide scientific basis for psychological care of female infertility.Methods:The study is divided into two stages.The first stage utilized a cross sectional design to explore the current situation on stigma in infertile women.A convenient sampling method was used to select 425 women with infertility as a research subjects.A set of questionnaire including general information questionnaire,irrational parenthood cognitions questionnaire,the infertility stigma scale and the perceived social support scale were used to collect data and to analyze.The second stage used a quasi-experimental design.Based on the prevalence study of first stages,72 female infertility with severe feeling of stigma who were selected from414 female infertility are divided into an experimental group(n=36)and a control group(n=36)randomly.The control group only received routine nursing care.On the basis of routine nursing care,mindfulness therapy is used on experimental group once a week,1.5-2 hours for 5 weeks.All data of the experimental group and the control group were measured after 5 weeks in order to compare the irrational parenthood cognition,stigma and perceived social support of the two groups before and after intervention.All data was put into Epi Data,and analyzed by using SPSS 13.0.The descriptive statistics used included percentage,mean,standard deviation and frequency;the inferential statistical methods included t-test,Chi-square test,One-way analysis of variance,Person's correlation and multiple stepwise regression.Results:The results will be reported in two parts.Part ? Study on the prevalence of stigma in female infertilityA total of 425 questionnaires were sent out,414 valid questionnaires were recovered,and the recovery rate of valid questionnaires was 97.41%.1.In this study,the average age of the infertile women was 29.59±3.44(21~43);the residence is concentrated in the city community(238 with the proportion of 57.49%);the Han nationality was the most(405 with the proportion of 97.83%);the years of marriage was mainly range from 2~5 years(316 with the proportion of 76.33%);the education degree was mainly undergraduate(171 with the proportion of 41.30%);and the monthly income was ranged from 3001 to 5000 yuan(173 with the proportion of41.79%).2.The cognitive scores of irrational parenthood cognition and perceived social support in infertile women were 44.04±11.17 and 60.07±13.38 respectively,both of which were in the middle level.3.The total score of overall stigma in infertile women was 62.46±22.00,which was close to the medium level of stigma.There were 227 cases(54.83%)with mild stigma,163 cases(39.37%)with medium stigma and 23 cases(5.56%)with severe stigma.4.The univariate analysis showed that the residence is located in the urban-rural fringe,the education level is limited to reading and writing,the occupation is freelance,the monthly income is ranged from 1001 to 3000 yuan,the time to detect infertility after preparing for pregnancy is ranged from 3 to 4 years,and the time to receive treatment for infertility is more than 1 year,treatment is artificial insemination,infertile women with very poor marital relationships had significantly higher levels of stigma than other groups of infertile patients in the same group(P<0.05).The multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the influencing factors of infertile women's stigma level were irrational parenthood cognition,perceived social support,reproductive pressure,marital relationship and whether they had children or not in turn.Part ? study on the effect of mindfulness therapy on stigma of infertile womenIn the second stage of quasi-experimental study,72 cases were included,after the intervention was completed due to the factors of loss of follow-up,64 cases were studied,of which 33 cases were in intervention group and 31 cases in control group.1.After intervention,the total score of irrational parenthood cognition was 48.55±3.49 in the experimental group and 55.81±8.38 in the control group,and the cognitive difference of irrational parenthood cognition between the two groups was 7.26±4.89.There was a significant difference between the two groups(P<0.01).2.After intervention,the total score of perceived social support was 51.91±7.09 in the experimental group and 50.42±12.49 in the control group,and the score difference of perceived social support between the two groups was 1.49±5.40.There was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).3.After intervention,the total score of stigma was 85.03±15.18 in the experimental group and 93.84±15.84 in the control group,and the score difference of stigma between the two groups was 8.81±0.66.There was significant difference between the two groups(P<0.05).?~2 test showed that the degree of stigma in infertile women in experimental group was lower than that in control group,the difference was statistically significant(?~2=64.00,P<0.01).Conclusions:1.The irrational parenthood cognition and the perceived social support in infertile women were all in the medium level.2.There is a widespread of stigma in infertile women,which is close to the medium stigma.Irrational parenthood cognition,perceived social support,reproductive pressure,marital relationship and whether there is a child or not are the influencing factors of stigma in infertile women.3.Mindfulness therapy can improve the irrational parenthood cognition,reduce the level of stigma,enhance the perceived social support.