Persevering in Fertility Treatments Despite Failures: Unrealistic Optimism and the Reality of a Pronatalist Culture.

Background: Fertility treatment discontinuation is difficult as it entails accepting childlessness. In most countries, financial limitations provide sufficient justification to terminate treatment. In Israel, unlimited funding enables women to undergo multiple treatment cycles, even when the odds of success are poor, thus providing a context for studying the psychological mechanisms involved when financial constraints are set aside.