The Spiritual Journey of Infertile Couples: Discussing the Opportunity for Spiritual Care
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Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Edifício da Biblioteca João Paulo II-5º Piso, Palma de Cima, 1649-023, Lisboa, Portugal
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School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, 24 D’Olier Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Centre of Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health and Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University, Royal London House, Christchurch Road, BH1 3LT, Bournemouth, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Arndt Büssing
Religions 2017, 8(4), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8040076
Received: 30 November 2016
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Revised: 11 April 2017
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Accepted: 20 April 2017
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Published: 24 April 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from Spirituality in Healthcare Conference 2016 “Nurturing the Spirit")
Infertility is a worldwide public health issue that exerts an in-depth impact on couples, families, communities and the individual. This reproductive health condition, along with fertility treatments, often forces couples to question their purpose and meaning in life, and to begin a spiritual journey. Nursing and midwifery literature describes the care of those living with infertility, but often lacks a clear approach of the spiritual dimension, and diagnosis and interventions may not be effectively addressed. In this paper, we present a discussion about spirituality and the assessment of spiritual needs such as hope, beliefs, meaning and satisfaction in life. In addition, spiritual needs are defined, for both nurses and midwives, and spiritual interventions are proposed for promoting couples’ resilience and spiritual well-being. Spirituality should be considered from the beginning to the end of life. It is necessary to translate this into the development and implementation of both specific policies regarding a spiritual approach and advanced education and training programs for nurses and midwives who care for infertile couples.
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Keywords:
infertility; spirituality; spiritual care; nursing; midwifery
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MDPI and ACS Style
Romeiro, J.; Caldeira, S.; Brady, V.; Hall, J.; Timmins, F. The Spiritual Journey of Infertile Couples: Discussing the Opportunity for Spiritual Care. Religions 2017, 8, 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8040076
AMA Style
Romeiro J, Caldeira S, Brady V, Hall J, Timmins F. The Spiritual Journey of Infertile Couples: Discussing the Opportunity for Spiritual Care. Religions. 2017; 8(4):76. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8040076
Chicago/Turabian StyleRomeiro, Joana, Sílvia Caldeira, Vivienne Brady, Jenny Hall, and Fiona Timmins. 2017. "The Spiritual Journey of Infertile Couples: Discussing the Opportunity for Spiritual Care" Religions 8, no. 4: 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8040076
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