Onm-12: Recommendations for the Sexuality Counseling and Management Strategy in Couples with Infertility

Sexuality and the wish for a child are strongly interrelated. Infertility drastically affects the sexual lives of individuals with Infertility and their partners which are often underreported and under-diagnosed. This is even worse in those societies where reproduction is a seminal outcome of sexual encounters. However patients may feel that sexual problems in the context of infertility are not important enough to be mentioned to their therapists, and therapists may feel uncomfortable and sometimes incompetent. Furthermore, the diagnostic criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV and International Classification of Diseases-10 are focused on the functional sexuality without any specificity regarding sexual life in total. For this reason the optimal approach for identification and evaluation of the sexual problems in couples in primary care or General ART practice has not been agreed. Sexual problems are frequent amongst infertile couples, but are not yet a routine part of diagnostic workup and therapeutic planning in infertility clinics. However, health professionals often feel less-prepared to assist these clients with sexual issues. The sexological diagnostic workup is essential for health professionals in providing relevant support and interventions. Counseling for couples with the unfulfilled desire for a child should regularly include explicit and appropriately sensitive reference to sexuality and sexual disorders by the therapist. Introducing a model to help health providers in infertility clinics seems necessary to evaluate sexual problems of the individuals with fertility problems. This facilitates access to recognition and possible treatment.