The Impact of Male Involuntary Childlessness on Men’s Health Across the Life Course: Implications for Individuals, Healthcare Providers and Practitioners

Hadley, Robin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4254-7648 (2023) The Impact of Male Involuntary Childlessness on Men’s Health Across the Life Course: Implications for Individuals, Healthcare Providers and Practitioners. In: The Men’s Health World Congress 2023 (MHWC2023), 11 December 2023 - 13 December 2023, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

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Abstract

Introduction: There are more childless men than childless women yet there is a paucity of material on involuntarily childless men (ICM). This can be attributed to several factors, including historical and societal norms, gender roles and expectations, and research and publishing biases. The field of research and literature on infertility and childlessness has historically focused more on women’s reproductive health due to the perceived centrality of motherhood and the fallacy that men are not interested in reproductive intentions and outcomes. Consequently, there is limited empirical data and scholarly material available on this topic. What little there is has demonstrated how ICM can negatively affect health and wellbeing and have significant impacts on policies, public health and epidemiology in men’s health. Aim: The aim is to address the gap in knowledge and affect change in policy and practice. Methods: Based on research studies conducted in the United Kingdom: semi-structured interviews with older men and analysed using a latent thematic analysis and an online mixed-method survey of parents and non-parents on reproductive intentions. Results: This piece explores men’s lived experience of childlessness, and the factors that influenced their non-parenthood status and the impact it had on their health, finance and societal status across the life course. ICM are shown to be at risk of poorer mental and physical health behaviours, less likely to engage in health screenings and preventative care, have smaller social networks and informal care support—all increase with age. Conclusions: Key considerations include the development of public and workplace policies that address fertility issues and provide support for men; Understanding the prevalence and causes of involuntary childlessness in men is crucial for public health and epidemiology research; the impact on men’s mental health, leading to stress, depression, anxiety and bereavement and the development of improved communication and engagement strategies by healthcare providers and practitioners.