“There is something that i can control”: food, fertility, and the journey to pregnancy

BACKGROUND: The connection between nutrition and assisted reproductive therapy (ART) has been largely ignored in research in public health. Individuals pursuing ART have a desire to find ways to support their fertility treatment. The purpose of the qualitative study was to better understand women who are pursuing fertility treatment and their search for answers to improve their fertility success through nutrition. METHODS: A total of 10 women (who had engaged in fertility treatment in the past) were recruited through online fertility support groups. Participants completed a short, 10-item demographic questionnaire and then participated in a one-hour online qualitative interview in Fall 2020. Qualitative methods were used including a phenomenological approach to the data. NVivo 12 was used to manage and code qualitative data. RESULTS: Our study uncovered a total of 7 major themes within the transcriptions of interviews. These seven identified themes were: ART Journey, Support System, Control, Source of Guidance, Diet Changes, Connection between nutrition and fertility, and Weight and Body Image concerns. Additionally, two group experiential themes helped to illustrate the overall experience of these women: Finding Control and Dietary Changes & Guilt. The findings provide an illustrative experience of how women going through fertility treatments seek out a variety of sources to try to improve their chances of conception. Often these changes were expressed as a way to have more control over the outcome, as well as strong feelings of guilt. CONCLUSIONS: This research uncovered how these individuals wanted to be able to have additional information or make changes in their diet in order to feel more control over the situation. Often, in order to do so, they tried to find this information themselves through a variety of sources. Future recommendations are for patients to be referred to registered dieticians and psychologists during the ART treatment process.