Perception and Meaning-Making of Infertility Among Women Undergoing Infertility Treatment: A Qualitative Study in Shiraz

Background: In the Iranian sociocultural context, infertility extends beyond a biological condition and becomes a multidimensional meaning-making phenomenon in women’s perceptions. Dominant mother-centered norms and prevailing gender structures link infertility to social pressure, stigmatization, and profound consequences for identity and interpersonal relationships. Understanding these perceptions and the meanings constructed around infertility is essential for recognizing its implications for women’s health. Objectives: This study aimed to explore infertile women’s sociocultural perceptions, analyze the meanings they attribute to infertility in social interactions, and examine the consequences arising from these perceptions. Methods: This qualitative study used Kathy Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory approach. Data were collected through in-depth, semistructured interviews with 23 women undergoing infertility treatment in Shiraz, Iran. Initial and focused coding were performed using MAXQDA software, yielding 290 initial codes. Results: Data analysis identified four core categories through initial coding (290 codes), focused coding (24 codes), and subcategory development (11 subcategories): sociocultural structural pressures and constraints, shared structural suffering among infertile women, challenges to identity and marital relations, and sociocultural strategies for coping with suffering. Collectively, these categories reflect a cycle in which infertility-related suffering is reproduced through interactions among structural pressures, identity challenges, and coping strategies. Conclusions: Within mother-centered norms, infertility functions as a social stigma in women’s perceptions and shapes meanings related to personal identity, marital relationships, and social interactions. Despite structural constraints, women draw on hope in medical treatment, the redefinition of feminine identity, individual agency, and cultural-religious beliefs to manage their suffering; nevertheless, a sense of incompleteness persists. These findings support a comprehensive approach to health and social policymaking that addresses the sociocultural meanings of infertility alongside medical interventions.