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Table 2 Quality of life

From: Quality of life, coping strategies and support needs of women seeking Traditional Chinese Medicine for infertility and viable pregnancy in Australia: a mixed methods approach

Questions1

All women

Primary/Secondary infertility

All women

Subgroup: primary infertility

Subgroup: secondary infertility

Subgroup: still birth

Number of participants

n=25

n=18/4

n=25

n=18

n=4

n=3

 

% agree 2

% agree 2

mean (SD) 3

mean (SD) 3

mean (SD) 3

mean (SD) 3

Not having been able to mother a child is distressing to me.

76

83/50

3.8 (1.1)

4.0 (1.1)

3.0 (1.4)

3.7(0.6)

I feel guilty for having let my partner down.

48

50/50

3.0 (1.4)

2.9 (1.5)

2.8 (1.5)

3.3(0.6)

I feel hurt when others make remarks about our childlessness.

48

45/50

3.1 (1.1)

3.2 (1.1)

2.8 (1.5)

3.3 (1.2)

I feel like a failure because of our problems conceiving.

48

50/25

2.8 (1.5)

2.9 (1.5)

2.0 (1.4)

3.7 (0.6)

My partner and I have less sex when I am not ovulating.

44

50/25

3.0 (1.4)

3.2 (1.4)

2.5 (1.3)

2.3 (1.5)

I feel under pressure when I am ovulating.

40

45/25

3.1 (1.2)

3.2 (1.4)

2.8 (1.7)

3.0 (1.0)

I feel down.

48

33/75

3.0 (1.1)

2.9 (1.1)

3.3 (1.5)

3.3 (1.2)

My life revolves around trying to have children.

36

39/67

2.8 (1.2)

3.0 (1.3)

1.8 (0.5)

3.3 (1.2)

I feel less satisfied after sex than I used to before we were trying to conceive.

40

39/50

2.6 (1.3)

2.7 (1.3)

2.8 (1.5)

2.3 (1.5)

I consider infertility a personal shortcoming.

36

39/-

2.8 (1.4)

2.8 (1.4)

1.8 (1.0)

4.0 (1.0)

I feel upset when I see a baby pusher/stroller.

36

33/25

2.7 (1.3)

2.6 (1.4)

2.5 (1.7)

3.7 (0.6)

Planning of our future has been hindered by our difficulties conceiving.

28

33/-

2.6 (1.4)

2.8 (1.5)

1.5 (0.6)

2.7 (1.2)

  1. SD, standard deviation.
  2. 1Table summarises only those questions of the 29-item questionnaire to which more than 30% of the primary infertility subgroup responded with agree or strongly agree.
  3. 2Combined responses ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’.
  4. 3Each item of the quality of life questionnaire was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = ‘strongly agree’ to 5= ‘strongly disagree’. Greater mean values are associated with lower quality of life.