The purpose of this study was to examine differences in daily emotional, physical and social reactions among husbands and wives during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Forty couples about to undergo ICSI or IVF at a private infertility clinic monitored their emotional, physical and social reactions daily for one complete treatment cycle from the first day of stimulation until the outcome of treatment was known (approximately 35 days). The results showed that men and women had a similar response pattern to oocyte retrieval, 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 important psychological determinant of reactions during IVF was the uncertainty of treatment procedures. Spouses appeared to be equally sensitive to this uncertainty and both appeared to respond to it with ambivalent feelings involving emotional distress and positive feelings of hope and intimacy.
The women reacted more strongly to their infertility than the men and they felt an intense desire to have a child. They received more social support than their partners, who experienced the fulfillment of the male role as well as the social role to become a parent as the most central aspects of infertility. The information-seeking coping style was significantly correlated with infertility distress only among men.
The women reacted more strongly to their infertility than the men and they felt an intense desire to have a child. They received more social support than their partners, who experienced the fulfillment of the male role as well as the social role to become a parent as the most central aspects of infertility. The information-seeking coping style was significantly correlated with infertility distress only among men.
To compare the probability of a first live birth, age at time of birth, and time between diagnosis/ referent date and birth between childhood and adolescent cancer survivors and an age-matched comparison group.
Materials and MethodsA total of 1,206 survivors was included in the study, together with 2,412 age-matched individuals from the general population. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate first live birth after diagnosis/referent date. Data were stratified by sex, age at diagnosis, and diagnostic era (ie, diagnosis before 1988 v in 1988 or later).
ResultsOverall, the probability of having a first live birth (hazard ratio [HR]) was significantly lower; men had lower HRs than women (HR, 0.65 v 0.79). There were no significant differences in the probability of having a first live birth among women diagnosed during adolescence (HR, 0.89), but the HR was lower among women with childhood cancers (HR, 0.47). Among male survivors, the situation was the opposite; men diagnosed during adolescence had lower HRs than survivors of childhood cancer (HR, 0.56 v 0.70). Examination of the data from the two diagnostic eras (before 1988 and 1988 or later) shows that the HR increased among female survivors after 1988 (HR, 0.71 v 0.90) and decreased among male survivors (HR, 0.72 v 0.59). A shorter time had elapsed between diagnosis/ referent date and the birth of a first child among both male and female survivors compared with controls. In addition, female survivors were younger at time of birth.
ConclusionThe study demonstrates reduced probability of having a first live birth among cancer survivors diagnosed during childhood or adolescence; men were particularly vulnerable.
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