Marital Discord: The Hidden Burden of Infertility

The present research was carried out to investigate and compare the degree of marital discord or dissatisfaction experienced by infertile and fertile couples. A sample of 400 couples was taken from different cities of Pakistan. Index of Marital Satisfaction (Hudson, 1982) was used to assess the marital discord. Results indicated that infertile couples have higher marital discord as compared to fertile couples. Findings suggested that infertile women have more marital discord when compared to infertile men. The data also provided evidence that age or income level did do not play any important role in deterioration of marital disturbances in infertile couples; while the differences were found significant for the factors of family system, locations, and education. The research also explored the effects of male-factor infertility and its impact on marital satisfaction.