Cultural Understanding of Infertility in the context of Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper discusses the cultural understanding and socio-cultural definition of infertile people in the context of Bangladesh. The essence of motherhood and significance of child bearing are generally appreciated in the patriarchal society of Bangladesh. On the other hand, infertility and the consequences of infertility engaged the infertile people to be stigmatized. However, the consequences of infertility is much social than biological. Thus, the biomedical definition of infertile has been challenged by the cultural understanding of infertile. The dissimilar experiences of infertile life between men and women and class situation attributed the perception in explaining the overall condition of infertile people of Bangladesh. The paper explores the resilience and agency to minimize the stigma and grief of the infertile man and women.