Every month becomes a funeral when they menstruate: African women’s beliefs about couple infertility

The experience of infertility in Africa is culturally constructed. However, the influence of these cultural beliefs about infertility on the experience of infertility in Africa is yet to receive scientific exploration.The purpose of this study was to explore beliefs about couple infertility among women from different African cultures. Fifteen African women volunteers from eight African countries were recruited from an African Women Association in a northern state of the United States of America for this qualitative study. Individual in-depth semi-structuredinterviews were conducted between June and September, 2008. Each interview lasted 30 to 45 minutes. Questions asked included beliefs about couple infertility in their respective cultures. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were content-analyzed and Nvivo 8 was used to manage and organize the data. Cultural expectation emerged as a main theme, within which originated three areas of beliefs; community attitudes, family influences, couples’ reactions to infertility and coping strategies. Thefindings showed that beliefs about couple infertility in the eight African countries were similar. The findings suggested a strong belief that culturally, African men donot become infertile. As a result, women are blamed for coupleinfertility. The findings further showed that women with couple infertility are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS. It is important to include sexual health counseling in the management of couples withinfertility in Africa.