The Psychological considerations and social effect of In-vitro Research Paper

The Psychological considerations and social effect of In-vitro fertilization - Research Paper Example Infertility for both men and women maintains a wide variety of psychological implications that differ in relation to gender. For men, infertility creates psychological problems associated with social stigmas and norms related to acceptable masculinity traits. For instance, male infertility creates inherent insecurity and self-esteem erosion that leads to stress, secrecy and self-protectionism in an effort to insulate the male from potential, negative social judgments that the infertile man is unable to perform sexually (Peronace, Boivin & Schmidt, 2007). For women, infertility creates psychological repercussions which include stress, anger, depression and even denial (McQuillian, Greil, White & Jacob, 2003; Matthews & Matthews, 1986). This essay attempts to detail the psychological considerations of in-vitro fertilization on men and women; the potential emotional and psychosomatic implications of undergoing this emotionally-charged medical process. The project further examines a variety of potential social effects that are created by the IVF procedures. Patterns of psychological maladjustment created by being infertile appear to be compounded by the anxiety related to hopefulness for success in the procedure and the anxieties of probable IVF failures. Infertile women who pursue and engage in assisted reproductive technology, IVF, experience significant psychological distress as a result of waiting for results and the high level of anticipation that the procedure will be successful. Once the egg has been fertilized outside of the body, the resulting zygote is cultured for a period ranging between two to six days before being transplanted into the uterus. Once inserted, patient must wait, while also being monitored periodically, for a period of approximately three weeks (Boston IVF, 2014). Hence, IVF is an extensive and arduous process of waiting and attempting to draw on optimism as a psychological form of self-protectionism. As a result of this