CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON INFERTILITY IN TURKISH SOCIETY: THE ISTANBUL SAMPLE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find out what people in the community knew about infertility, as well as their attitudes and opinions regarding it. This cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted between November 2019 and April 2020 with 711 people (511 females and 200 males). To collect the study data, the researchers used the "Descriptive Information Form" and the "Attitude towards Infertility Scale" (ATIS).The majority of the participants stated that it was important to have a child, 28.4% stated that they were worried about having a child in the future. It was determined that 22.9% of the participants defined infertility as not having a child in less than one year, and 82.4% of them thought that infertility was a treatable problem. The mean score of ATIS was found to be 48.69±6.8. There was a significant difference between The ATIS score and age, marital status, and the number of live children. The number of children desired and the priority placed on having children were found to have a weak negative correlation. It was discovered as a result of the research that there was a favorable attitude regarding infertility. Furthermore, it was discovered that having a child was significant and that as the value placed on having a child increased, so did the negative attitude toward infertility.