Although着sionandstressdo not negatively impactchancesofpregnancythroughin vitro fertilisation (IVF), pregnancies are less likely whenanxietylevels arehigh,findsresearchfrom Nazarbayev University (NU) Department of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Many societies around the world still associate being ‘female’ with the ability to conceive and have children leading to asocial stigmaaround infertility in women. Due to this, infertility can cause women to experiencehighlevels of stress,anxiety, and depression. However, the impact of this on attempts to conceive remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress, depression, andanxietyonIVF, a clinical procedure made available for couples struggling to conceive.
Questionnaires were administered to assess psychological stress,着sed mood, andanxietyin 142 women referred toIVFclinics. They found that more than half of respondents were at risk of developing clinical depression and many also exhibitedhighstress scores; this supports previous studies which indicated patients struggling to conceive experience depression,anxiety,isolation, and loss of control. Eight weeks after undergoingIVF, patients then had an ultrasound to check whether the procedure was successful.
Their results showed that, althoughIVF结果抑郁或圣不相关ress, higher levels of state and traitanxietywere associated with lowerchancesofpregnancyafter undergoingIVFtreatment.
Gulzhanat Aimagambetova, Assistant Professor from NU School of Medicine says: ‘Neither the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, nor the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology have formal requirements forpsychological counsellingfor couples embarking on fertility treatments.
‘However, we suggest that our findings provide reasoning for implementing psychological support inIVFclinics. The support should be provided by a certified specialist on a regular basis before and during treatment to alleviateanxietyand increasechancesof successfulIVF结果。”
These findings were published in theJournal of Clinical Medicine.
