Human Reproduction, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 903-907, 1996
© 1996 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
research-article |
Impact of the in-vitro fertilization process on emotional, physical and relational variables*
1Institut de Médecine de la Reproduction de Montréal, Concordia University Montreal, H3G 1M8 2Institut de Médecine de la Reproduction de Montréal Montreal, H3P 3H5, Canada
Correspondence: 4To whom correspondence should be addressed
The purpose of the study was to examine the stress associated with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) concurrently with other physical and relational variables, and to compare these reactions with those reported during a menstrual cycle without treatment. Women (n = 20) completed a daily symptom checklist for one complete menstrual cycle without treatment and one complete IVF cycle. The checklist included items related to stress, optimism, physical discomfort and marital and social relationships. Daily ratings during IVF were compared with those obtained during the no-treatment menstrual cycle. IVF was associated with more stress, optimism and physical discomfort than a menstrual cycle without treatment, and with greater changes to marital and social relationships. The pattern of results shows that the stress associated with IVF is less salient when examined in the context of reactions in other areas of functioning. The findings suggest that the emotional impact of IVF might be less pronounced during the actual treatment process than is generally assumed from studies focusing on the impact of treatment failure. Variables such as optimism and physical discomfort which have previously received less attention in the literature were significantly affected by IVF treatment.
Key words: infertility/in-vitro fertilization/stress factors
*This work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, Montebello, Canada, September 20–23, 1995.
3Present address: School of Psychology, College of Cardiff, University of Wales, PO Box 901, Cardiff CF1–3YG, UK
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