Carina Zhu
In this paper, I present some findings from my doctoral research study on understanding women’s experiences of infertility. Methodologically informed by Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, I interviewed ten women and invited them to bring an image of meaning to their interviews. In part one, I begin with study participants’ experiences with health care providers (HCPs) that were, in sum, “a mixed bag.” In part two, I interpret what remains of participants’ experiences with infertility as traces of family that is still unfolding. Infertility was inviting of grief and confusion, and the family continued to grow. I end with the suggestion that these findings signal a return to the I-Thou relationship at the heart of caring for others. When HCPs take up what the (clinical) world presents to them, there is something in there for them too.