TY - JOUR T1 - Management of involuntary childlessness in general practice--patients' and doctors' views. JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 105 LP - 106 VL - 47 IS - 415 AU - E Ittner AU - W Himmel AU - M M Kochen Y1 - 1997/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/47/415/105.abstract N2 - In order to determine whether general practitioners (GPs) are interested in infertility counselling and whether infertile patients seek help from their family doctor, we personally interviewed doctors and infertile patients. Almost all of the board-certified GPs in Göttingen, Germany, and two independent samples of infertile women and men attending the Göttingen University Hospital participated. The majority of the GPs did not routinely ask childless patients about their desire to have children, although half of the infertile men and one-quarter of the infertile women would prefer it if their doctor were to raise the subject. About half of these doctors emphasized their role as an important source of information and advice during assisted conception and almost half of the patients expected emotional support from their GP. ER -