Friendship When Facing Infertility: Challenges and Dilemmas of Social Support

Abstract
Communication about health often occurs in our everyday conversations with friends and family members. The communication of social support is one particular type of everyday talk that has important consequences for physical and psychological health. The following case study explores some of the challenges and dilemmas that characterize the communication of social support in health-related situations. Through exploring the experiences of Julie, a woman experiencing infertility, and her best friend and confidant, Sharon, we discern that even when social support is an expectation of close relationships, actually talking about some health topics can be problematic. In particular, the person coping with the health challenge and that person’s loved ones might struggle with what to say and how to say it. In this case study, we use Goldsmith’s (2004) theory of social support to explore the difficulties that relational partners might encounter during everyday interactions about health and encourage readers to contemplate their own experiences with such  conversations.