Wyatt, Jonathan

Prior, Seamus

Meechan, Marie

2026-05-29T13:45:41Z

2026-05-29

This PhD project critically examines a re-remembering and re-writing of my personal experiences of being diagnosed with unexplained infertility (UI), and of being unable to conceive and give birth, after twelve years in reproductive medicine settings. It investigates this issue through an autoethnographic social constructionist perspective, using my feminist voice and the map I discovered through these experiences, considering both cultural and societal contexts, as well as my religious environment related to the UI experience. The primary research question examines my personal experiences and the impacts of UI by asking: What is the experience of unexplained infertility (UI)? The sub-question later explores how counselling and psychotherapy can support these processes. This leads to a discussion towards the end of the thesis about the broader topic of counselling infertility. Using vignettes re-remembered and rewritten from my journals over twelve years, I reflect on how I became an object of assisted reproductive technologies and a commodity within the reproductive medicine industry. I also share two examples from my private practice as an infertility counsellor. My writing features three perspectives: my personal experiences as a co-sufferer of UI, my role as an infertility counsellor specialising in this area, and my perspective as a researcher. My study critiques the medicalisation of being unable to conceive and give birth naturally, and questions the UK medical diagnosis, particularly the term “unexplained”. I also challenge the prevailing assumption that all couples can conceive with sufficient and ongoing medical intervention, emphasising the need for a critical examination of when to recognise the limits of such interventions. This exploration aims to highlight the emotional and psychological implications of these medical narratives and to advocate for a more nuanced understanding of infertility that respects individual experiences and choices. Drawing on both my own journals and client examples intertwined with literature and knowledge from the field, my thesis highlights the emotional impacts of undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). Critically exploring these various faces and forms of UI reveals different insights and highlights aspects of UI that are not necessarily covered in my own narratives, yet share common themes: shame, stigma, identity issues, and disenfranchised grief. Therefore, this research offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced in UI from an insider's perspective, while also critically examining from the researcher's perspective, intertwined with that of the specialist counsellor working exclusively with infertility. Thus, my project ultimately advocates for a more compassionate and supportive approach within both the medical model and among all professionals working with UI and infertility patients/clients. This critical autoethnography not only contributes to the existing literature on the experiences of UI and infertility but also serves as a call to action for improved mental health support for individuals and couples grappling with the complexities of unexplained (in)fertility (UI) and infertility.

https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/44773

https://doi.org/10.7488/era/7287

en

The University of Edinburgh

Unexplained Infertility (UI)

UI

Autoethnography

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs

ARTs

critical analysis

Troubling unexplained (in)fertility: a critical autoethnography of loss and hope

Thesis

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy