IMPACT OF THE IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION PROCESS ON EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL AND RELATIONAL VARIABLES

The purpose of the study was to examine the stress associated with in- vitro fertilization (IVF) concurrently with other physical and relatio nal variables, and to compare these reactions with those reported duri ng a menstrual cycle without treatment, Women (n = 20) completed a dai ly symptom checklist for one complete menstrual cycle without treatmen t and one complete IVF cycle. The checklist included items related to stress, optimism, physical discomfort and marital and social relations hips, Daily ratings during IVF were compared with those obtained durin g the no-treatment menstrual cycle, IVF was associated with more stres s, optimism and physical discomfort than a menstrual cycle without tre atment, and with greater changes to marital and social relationships, The pattern of results shows that the stress associated with IVF is le ss salient when examined in the context of reactions in other areas of functioning. The findings suggest that the emotional impact of IVF mi ght be less pronounced during the actual treatment process than is gen erally assumed from studies focusing on the impact of treatment failur e. Variables such as optimism and physical discomfort which have previ ously received less attention in the literature were significantly aff ected by IVF treatment.