This article reviews the struggles that couples experience with fertility, what sorts of treatments are available and what cultural considerations need to be made when working with clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds. One of the major reasons that infertility can be a struggle stems from the fact that most people assume individuals will marry and have children. Thus, infertility is frequently associated with depression, low self-esteem, shame, guilt, sexual problems, and a disconnection from the couple’s social network. Some research has been conducted regarding infertility, however, the major focus is on those who stem from middle-class white families. Furthermore, ideas regarding infertility and treatment vary by culture. For …show more content…
African Americans felt infertility was a major stressor that led them to avoidance, distraction, distancing, and a faith in God. The article goes on to break infertility into three categories which are as follows: primary – couples who have never had a child experiencing infertility, secondary – which are couples who are experiencing infertility after having one or more child, and subfertility – which is when members of the couple have children from prior unions however, they are having infertility problems together. Infertility is characterized by an inability to get pregnant after one year of regular sex without birth control, and an inability to carry to live birth. Infertility however, is often treated and 80% of couples conceive within 4-5 years of diagnosis. Some infertility treatments include measuring basal body readings, in vitro fertilization, as well as semen collection. Asian and Mexican Americans however, may feel bad masturbation for semen collection is against their values and may feel better about collecting semen in a condom during intercourse as an alternative method. Additionally, some cultures believe fertility to be a female issue, and therefore they may find males are unwilling to participate in fertility …show more content…
Those couples who seek treatment for infertility are more than likely already experiencing serious distress. The counselor must assess the couple’s relationship and their emotional state. Couples with infertility issues go through five phases including: dawning, mobilization, immersion, resolution, and legacy. The counselor needs to determine where each partner is on this scale and incorporate it with cultural factors. The counselor must also consider their personal biases and attitudes regarding fertility so that they are careful not to minimize the couple’s experiences. They must understand that the couple might be uncomfortable discussing their sexuality and or counseling in general. The article goes on to suggest specific questions that the counselor might ask the couple to better assess how the couple is feeling. Another consideration regarding culture in terms of infertility is what generation American the patient is, for example first generation Chinese American may hold different values than fourth genration Chinese American. Some treatments include externalizing the problem which allows the couple to think of the issue (infertility) as something outside
In kilner’s case study “Having a baby the new-fashioned way”, present a story that can be relatable to a lot of families struggling to have a child. This is a dilemma that can be controversial and ethical in own sense. The couple that were discussed in the case study were Betty and Tom. Betty and Tom who are both in their early forties who have struggled to bear children. Dr. Ralph Linstra from Liberty University believes that “Fertility can be taken for granted”. Dr. Ralph talks about how many couples who are marriage may run into an issue of bearing a child and turn to “medical science” to fix the issue. He discusses that “God is author of life and he can open and close the womb”. That in it’s self presents how powerful God.
Childbirth is biological, psychological, and natural activities by which the human species grow into its family cycle and childbirth also have a sexual tradition. Beyond the emotions and the various phases that it creates, childbirth has specific criteria to be met on both man and woman. Their union must be founded on the reciprocal love, the biological and psychological maturation, and a developed sense of responsibility. Because of this, a pregnancy occurred early in life is becoming a situation full of social, economical and psychological difficulties. The birth’s pain is weighted quickly on the young and premature couple. In the United States, teen’s pregnancies from ages 15 -19 remain one of the highest situations in the modern world. It has had little chance of success because many teens are still becoming parents and this problem is constantly increasing in the Latino/ Hispanic community. Immigration, peer pressures, dropout rate, cultural difference, and economic disadvantages are main reasons behind the majority teen’s pregnancies in this community. After I explain why it’s important to reduce teen’s pregnancy rates, I will suggest some challenging yet feasible solutions to break the cycle of unplanned pregnancies.
The birth rate among teens in the United States has declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, with the least being born in 2010; and in 2011 the number of babies born to adolescents aged 15-19 years of age was 329,797 (“Birth Rates for U.S.”, 2012). Although the decline in unwanted and unplanned teen births is on the rise the United States continues to be among the highest of industrialized countries facing this problem. This is a prevailing social concern because of the health risks to these young mothers as well as their babies. Teens at higher risk of becoming pregnant are raised at or below the poverty level by single parents; live in environments that cause high levels of stress (i.e., divorce, sexual psychological and physical abuse); are influenced by peers or family members that are sexually active; and lack parental guidance that would direct them to be responsible and self-controlled.
The District of Columbia is the 23rd most population city in the United States with a population of 658,893 (Census). According to UNICEF, teen pregnancy is defined as “A teenage girl, usually within the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant” ((Link 1). Nationally in the United States, there has been a steady decline of teen pregnancy within the past decade. However, it is not occurring in the District of Columbia, specifically Southeast DC (Ward 7 and 8) which includes areas such as: Lincoln Heights, Twining, Anacostia and Woodland. As of 2011, DC was ranked number nine in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy. For the total amount of births, only 908 were from young women who were below the age of 20 in Washington DC. About 879 were from young women that were around high school ages 15-19. Specifically, Southeast DC is a low-income area, with approximately ¼ of teen mothers going on welfare within three years after their child’s birth (Link 2). As of 2012, out of the 790 births from teenage mothers, more than half, or 457 of the births mainly occurred in the Southeast DC area (Link4). This area has been plagued through various social determinants of health. This includes having repeated cycles of poverty, lack of comprehensive sexual education, especially in regards to contraception and a lot of violence occurring as a result of crimes. Ward 7 has approximately 95% of its citizens being Black and 2.3% of their citizens are Hispanic(Link 5). While in Ward 8 have about 94% of their citizens that are Black and 1.8% are Hispanic. Between both wards, about 63% of households including both Blacks and Hispanics are living below the federal poverty line and about 37% of births from the 2010 census were from teenage mothers. Abo...
Fatherless has been one of the most important challenges and epidemics in our generation. The effects of growing up...
As we grow and experience our own intimate relationships with others, we cannot help but be influenced by our own experiences as well as these ideas of how relationships are supposed to be by the evidence we have gathered over or life time (Shaw, 2001). Given, that our values and issues surrounding relationships are entwined with our social and historical context, therapist should pay close attention to how they perceive client relationships. It is therefore, important that counsellors be aware of the contextual issues within their practice, as part of helping diverse couples with their relationships, while paying attention to the different diversity factors (Thomlison,
For centuries there has been a medical epidemic that has plagued expecting mothers around the world. Considered for so long to be simply a woman’s issue, men remained unconcerned and distant—if they even knew as often they were never told. Most everyone has heard whispers of it, but until recent years the medical and psychological communities did not recognize the lasting implications of this occurrence. Now as couples break historical norms and become more egalitarian-based, this issue is one that not only affects women, but their partners also.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.1 million married couples experience troubles with infertility. Infertility is defined as trying for over a year and not becoming pregnant for women under 35 and trying for six months for women over 35. The cause of the infertility is a male factor one third of the instances, female another third, ten percent of the cause is a combination of both male and female factors and the remaining twenty percent is not apparent. In vitro fertilization is a process that tries to eliminate the problems inherent in the mother and father. It involves an egg is fer...
A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.
The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is four times higher than the developed European countries, such as France and Germany.3 Latina and black women make up the largest part of teen pregnancy because these groups have highly disproportionate cases of births at the early ages of 13 to 18 years old.3 These groups also face the highest rates of low socioeconomic status and low levels of education which together aggravate the pregnancy problem. An approximated 60% of females live in poverty at the time of childbearing and lack the knowledge or resources to survive economically or prevent yet another pregnancy.2 ...
The techniques used in marriage and family counseling can be different. For instance, counselors will sometimes handle family therapy in different ways than they would couples or marital therapy. Both family and marriage c...
“The Emotional Effects of Infertility on the Couple Relationship.” IVF.com. Georgia Reproductive Specialists, 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. .
I do believe the author’s conclusions were warranted given the study’s design. By using the results obtained from this study counselors can determine how to best help clients with various types of infertility issues. As the results of the study revealed the etiology of the infertility could be correlated with the type of stress the client experiences.
Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)
Teitelbaum, Michael S., Jay Winter. “Low Fertility Rates - Just a Phase?” YaleGlobal Online. Yale Global, 9 Jul. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.