PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTIONS DURING IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION - SIMILAR RESPONSE PATTERN IN HUSBANDS AND WIVES

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in daily emotiona l, physical and social reactions among husbands and wives during in-vi tro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), Fo rty couples about to undergo ICSI or IVF at a private infertility clin ic monitored their emotional, physical and social reactions daily for one complete treatment cycle from the first day of stimulation until t he outcome of treatment was known (approximately 35 days). The results showed that men and women had a similar response pattern to oocyte re trieval, fertilization, embryo transfer and the pregnancy test. These stages were associated with the most significant changes in reactions for both spouses, The pattern of results suggested that the most impor tant psychological determinant of reactions during IVF was the uncerta inty of treatment procedures. Spouses appeared to be equally sensitive to this uncertainty and both appeared to respond to it with ambivalen t feelings involving emotional distress and positive feelings of hope and intimacy.