RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFERTILITY STIGMA AND FERTILITY QUALITY OF LIFE: EXAMINING PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AS A MEDIATION

Infertility is a common disorder that affects over 186 million individuals worldwide. The goal of this research is to examine whether there is a relationship between infertility stigma and fertility quality of life among Indian women.In the association between infertility stigma and fertility; quality of life, perceived social support is assessed as a mediator. Participants who identified as currently or previously infertile discussed their feelings about fertility stigma,the quality of their fertility-related social support,and their fertility quality of life (FQoL).Only 307 completed questionnaires were obtained from the 334 identified individuals who were given data collection tools. Structural Equation Modeling was used to treat the data (SEM).It was observed that infertility stigma and perceived social support had an impact on fertility quality of life, either directly or indirectly. Fertility quality of life was reduced by stigma, and this relationship was partially mediated by infertile women's perceptions of social support.Additionally,the stigma associated with Infertility was adversely related with the overall quality of past fertility-related support.