Complex factors related to marital and sexual satisfaction among couples undergoing infertility treatment: A cross-sectional study

This study assesses complex factors related to marital and sexual satisfaction among couples undergoing infertility treatment. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 140 couples who visited fertility centers in Iran, between September 2015 and July 2016. Data collection was done by Marital and Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaires and were analyzed by the IBM SPSS 26 software. There was a significant difference between wives and husbands in the MSQ total scores (p = 0.027). However, there was no significant difference between wives and husbands in the SSQ total scores (p = 0.398). Sexual satisfaction and decision-maker in life among wives and husbands were significant predictors of MSQ. The kind of treatment, cause of infertility and BMI among wives and kinds of treatment, cause of infertility, and decision-maker among husbands were also significant predictors of SSQ. The findings of this study showed that there is a difference between the understanding of marital and sexual satisfaction in wives and their husbands. Healthcare providers need to pay more attention to these differences. •This cross-sectional survey showed that factors related to marital and sexual satisfaction are different in infertile couples.•Sexual satisfaction and decision-maker in life among wives and husbands were significant predictors of marital satisfaction.•At the practice, counselors pay more attention to key points and gender differences. Policymakers also need to adopt evidence-based policies, given the importance of the issue.