Psychosomatic Medicine 15:485-499 (1953)
© 1953 American Psychosomatic Society

Some Emotional Factors in Infertility

¹ Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago, Illinois

Six women, whose husband's sperm was inadequate, underwent artificial insemination and did not conceive in spite of several attempts. One of the women became pregnant after the couple planned for adoption and the husband had treatment with testosterone; another husband was able to impregnate his wife normally, after the psychoanalytical therapy of his wife resolved her conflict with her mother and thus affected an improvement of the relationship between the marital partners. This case and some observations in the other cases led to the conclusion that the "transitory infertility, " as observed in these cases, is a conjugal phenomenon.

The artificial insemination itself, instead of relieving the mutual infertility in these cases, rather increased it.

The effect of frustration in the reactivation of the developmental conflicts with the mother is discussed; it is emphasized that these conflicts, although they motivate the current mood, cannot be unqualifiedly identified as the psychogenic factors responsible for infertility.