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Journal of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Among women of reproductive age in the United States, at least 15 percent will report ever using infertility services. Using data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth, this study considers the relationship between use of infertility services and a woman’s self-rated health. This study employs a logistic regression to predict the probability of reporting a certain level of self-rated health or lower when a woman reports seeking medical assistance for infertility. An additional measure considers the interaction between a woman ever using infertility services and the attitude toward having children on the probability of a lower level of self-rated health. Results indicate that ever using infertility services does increase the risk of women reporting worse self-rated health outcomes compared to women who have never used infertility services. The analysis of the interaction between the attitudes toward having children and ever using infertility services suggest that women who believe the reward of having children is worth the cost and who have ever used infertility services are also more likely to report worse self-rated health outcomes compared to women who have not used infertility services. This study provides further insight into the unique relationship between the infertility experience and overall health outcomes for women.

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