New Articles on Infertility and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health

Newswise — Two groundbreaking articles, a study examining women's experiences after infertility and a review of chronic fatigue syndrome in childbearing women, were published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health.

Women's Lived Experience of Infertility after Unsuccessful Medical Intervention is authored by M. Patrice McCarthy, RN, CNS, PhD. Most previous infertility research explored the impact of infertility for women actively engaged in treatment. This pioneering study examined the phenomenon of women's experience with infertility following unsuccessful medical treatment. Infertility and its role as a life-defining experience pervaded the women's stories of living with infertility after unsuccessful treatment. With more than seven million women in the United States seeking treatment for infertility each year, health care professionals are advised to assess women's overall well-being, mental health status with particular attention to spiritual well-being, and their social support network as a basis for determining supportive services that may be required in the wake of unsuccessful treatment for infertility.

In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Implications for Women and their Health Care Providers during the Childbearing Years, Peggy Rosati Allen, CNM, WHNP, MS presents an overview of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) including current evidence and practice guidelines for care of childbearing women with this disorder. According to recent estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to four million people in the United States meet diagnostic criteria for CFS, and 85% of these persons remain undiagnosed. CFS strikes 3 to 5 times more women than men. As increased awareness and better diagnostic tools for CFS emerge, health care providers are likely to encounter more women with CFS. Although the interaction between CFS and pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period is not yet scientifically elucidated, evidence indicates that midwives are ideally suited to provide the type of perinatal care that is most conducive to a positive childbirth experience for women with CFS.

About the AuthorsM. Patrice McCarthy, RN, CNS, PhD is faculty member and director of the PhD program in the College of Nursing at the University of Akron.

Peggy Rosati Allen, CNM, WHNP, MS is a clinical instructor with BirthCare HealthCare, the University of Utah College of Nursing faculty practice for the graduate nurse-midwifery and women's health nurse practitioner program.

For more information on subscription or online access to Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health visit http://www.jmwh.com.