As a psychologist and perinatal counsellor, my path has led me more and more often in recent years to accompany mothers and couples undergoing assisted reproductive procedures throughout the process.
In working with them, it became increasingly clear to me how much we need to talk about fertility problems, infertility, the trials and tribulations of relationships, sex life, motherhood, and assisted reproductive technology itself, whether it be insemination or a fombic programme.
Women and couples very often report that they are treated on a conveyor belt at infertility centres, they are happy to squeeze the minimum information out of busy medical staff at the consultation, they do not get answers to their questions, and the emotional aspect of the process is an absolutely unimaginable fantasy for the time being.
Yet in this tense, emotionally charged situation, every word, every gesture, has an increased role to play for the doctor, the medical staff and, to a lesser extent, the wider community. There is therefore a lack of information and psychological support, and the tension - which is one of the main enemies of a successful fombicide programme - is increasing in the people concerned.
Why is it important to manage stress and tension during IVF?
Getting pregnant and giving birth in a dangerous environment is evolutionarily risky, for both mother and child. Evolution has developed mechanisms that, under intense stress, can inhibit the reproductive system or, if the cost/benefit analysis shows that it is more profitable to lose the foetus, to "abort" the foetus.
Studies indicate that psychologically experienced stress is associated with disturbances of the gonadal functional axis, which may lead to infertility. This effect has also been clearly demonstrated in men: psychological stress inhibits sperm production. The success of IVF (in vitro fertilisation) depends on whether the oocytes obtained from the woman, fertilised with sperm taken from her husband or donor and transferred back into the uterus, will adhere.
Women undergoing IVF treatment usually already suffer from severe anxiety and depressive symptoms which in themselves can prevent them from getting pregnant. Women with high levels of anxiety or depression are the most unsuccessful in IVF treatment. This shows that medical methods cannot break through the evolutionary barriers.
Boivin and Takefman (1995) found that those who were unsuccessful in an IVF programme in a given cycle experienced significantly greater stress during treatment, with a weaker biological response to treatment. The authors suggest that stress impairs the biological response and may result in poorer conception rates.
So even women who do not otherwise show symptoms of anxiety are more likely to experience increased anxiety during IVF: on the one hand, the delay in conception itself is stressful, and on the other hand, fears of treatment and failure greatly increase anxiety.
How can I help you if you are about to have IVF?
- Transfer of information: in infertility centres you are often treated on a conveyor belt, you don't have time to ask your questions
- We can talk through any fears or doubts you may have about the procedure, so you can start with confidence and confidence.
- By the time you get to IVF you will have been through a lot, I will help you to deal with any losses
- Solving self-esteem and relationship problems resulting from the failures of the pre-IVF period
- I teach effective stress management techniques specific to this life situation, increasing the chances of successful IVF (see research above)
- I teach positive visualisation techniques that also promote successful conception
- IVF pregnancies often cause more worry for the mother, but by accompanying the pregnancy, the 9 months can be spent not in fear but in joyful anticipation
Nóra Árvai
psychologist, perinatal counsellor, specialist writer,
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