Male Infertility Stigma as Relational Inequity: Nursing Implications for Women's Invisible Burdens in Reproductive Care

ABSTRACT

Infertility affects an estimated 15% of couples worldwide, with male factors contributing to nearly half of the cases. Yet infertility continues to be culturally framed as a woman's problem, positioning women as primary targets of medical investigation and social blame. This study employs a Critical Interpretive Synthesis across sociology, nursing, psychology, anthropology and bioethics to theorise male infertility stigma as a relational inequity rather than an individual burden. To strengthen the empirical grounding of this conceptual analysis, we incorporated a structured secondary analysis of published qualitative quotations from men experiencing infertility. These first‑order accounts illuminate how men narrate stigma, masculinity and relational strain, providing empirical illustrations of four relational mechanisms—concealment, blame transfer, emotional labour and role reconfiguration—through which men's spoiled masculinity invisibly restructures women's roles in reproductive care. By foregrounding women's invisible burdens, the analysis advances a relational sociology of health with direct implications for nursing practice. The findings demonstrate how nurses encounter and mediate stigma spillover in clinical encounters, family systems and community contexts. Applied implications include dyadic, stigma‑sensitive interventions, couple‑centred care pathways and structural reforms that challenge cultural scripts linking masculinity to fertility. Conceptualising infertility stigma as a relational inequity not only extends stigma theory but also strengthens nursing inquiry into gender, caregiving and reproductive justice.