Iranian and English women's use of religion and spirituality as resources for coping with infertility

The study reported in this paper explores how infertile women cope with infertility using their religious and spiritual beliefs. In total, 30 infertile women affiliated to different denominations of Christianity and Islam were interviewed in the UK and Iranian fertility clinics using grounded theory. The categories which emerged included governing ones' 'Self' through gaining control of emotions, adopting religious coping strategies, and handling the burden of infertility peacefully, which all related to the core category of 'relying on a higher being'. We argue that infertile women employ a variety of religious and spiritual coping strategies which are associated with adaptive health outcomes. Further scientific inquiry is required to investigate how religion and spirituality promote adaptation to infertility.