PERCEIVED SUPPORT AND COUNSELING NEEDS IN RELATION TO IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION

This paper reports findings from a study investigating perceived suppo rt and desire for support in a sample of 101 men and 117 women who wer e consecutive referrals to an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. Bot h men and women perceived their partners as providing the most support and there were only small gender differences in the extent to which o ther people were perceived as supportive. There were also only modest gender differences in the types of support participants felt to be des irable and both men and women felt that support would be most desirabl e after a failed IVF cycle. Bath men and women also felt that a routin ely provided information booklet about the practical aspects of IVF wo uld improve knowledge of and passage through art IVF cycle. There was a tendency for women who expressed a desire for some form of counselli ng or support to obtain higher General Health Questionnaire scores. Im plications of the results for counselling provision ave discussed.