Social Norms and Supportive Communication in Infertility

Public Attitudes Toward Women's Reproductive Challenges

Bibliographic Data

ID24228943
AuthorsMaija J Kiviharju, Sarah K Gulash (0009-0006-4510-2109), Jennifer L Gordon (0000-0001-6401-6827)
Year2026
Publication date2026-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWomen s Health Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-3867 • E-ISSN: 1878-4321
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.whi.2026.09.002
PMID42864189
OpenAlexW7221558844
LanguageEN
References cited35

PURPOSE: Infertility is an increasingly common women's health concern with well-documented mental health consequences, yet little research has examined how public communication and stigma shape the social support available to women experiencing fertility challenges. Supportive communication is a critical component of social support and may mitigate infertility-related distress, whereas stigmatizing attitudes and misconceptions may contribute to harmful or dismissive responses. This study examined potential attitude-based variables associated with helpful and unhelpful infertility-related communication, as well as contextual factors influencing these attitudes. METHODS: A total of 419 adults from the general public completed an online survey assessing fertility-related attitudes, beliefs, and misconceptions, along with their likelihood of endorsing supportive or unsupportive statements after reading a vignette describing a woman experiencing one of four types of fertility challenges: female-factor infertility, male-factor infertility, age-related infertility, or infertility in a same-sex relationship. RESULTS: = .07, p < .05) statements, whereas factual knowledge about infertility was not associated with communication responses. Endorsement of helpful statements was modestly higher in the male-factor infertility condition (M = 5.75, SD = 1.26) compared with the same-sex infertility condition (M = 5.14, SD = 1.96, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that address stigma and promote compassionate, informed communication may represent an important public health strategy for improving psychosocial support for women experiencing infertility.

age-related infertility · female factor infertility · Infertility · male factor infertility · Psychosocial support · public attitudes · Social norms · Social support · Stigma · supportive communication · Obesity and Health Practices · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Reproductive Health and Technologies

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