Grief responses and coping strategies among infertile women after failed in vitro fertilization treatment

Abstract

Reproductive technology has increased the childbearing potential for many infertile women, but in vitro fertilization (IVF) failures are common, which often trigger grief responses and coping strategies to manage the stressful life event. The present cross-sectional study investigated 66 women who had experienced at least one failure with IVF treatment. The data were gathered by a self-administered structured questionnaire, and included the participant's personal profile, grief responses and the Jalowiec's coping scale. The most common grief response among the respondents was bargaining, followed by acceptance, depression, anger, denial, and isolation. The order of coping strategies used, from highest-to-lowest, were confrontative, optimistic, self-reliant, fatalistic, supportive, evasive, palliative, and emotive. Use and self-perceived effectiveness among all coping strategies had a high correlation, except emotion. Bargaining, the most common grief response, was associated with a variety of coping strategies. All coping strategies were correlated with grief responses. The results of identifying the grief responses and associated coping strategies of women who have undergone failed IVF treatment may assist nurses and other health care professionals in their efforts to provide appropriate information, care and psychological support.

An analysis of the anxiety and hopelessness levels of women during IVF‐ET treatment

“…Women who passed these stages but experienced a failure in treatment stated that they felt insufficient, empty, an absence, guilty, sad, like a failure, and deep sorrow. [29][30][31] In this study, these factors effectively promoted a high level of…”

Effects of Nursing Care Based on Watson’s Theory of Human Caring on Anxiety, Distress, And Coping, When Infertility Treatment Fails: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…For this reason, they claimed that the care given to women whose infertility treatment results in failure should be continued. 31 Lancastle and Boivin stated that the attempts to cope in the process of waiting for the pregnancy test result allowed women to pass this duration of waiting more positively and in a relaxed manner. 32 Related studies revealed that use of effective coping methods in the infertility treatment process helped decrease the influence of infertility and the level of anxiety.…”

Depression and Anxiety Outcomes Associated with Failed Assisted Reproductive Technologies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A systematic review [16] evaluated psychological adjustment toIVF and found that overall women adjusted well to unsuccessful treatment cycles, as have some other studies which have concluded no change or positive emotional adjustment following failure [17–18]. In spite of this, numerous studies have found that women and men experience negative psychological outcomes after unsuccessful treatment [19–28]. With an increasing number of couples seeking treatment, including older couples, it is important to assess potential psychological impacts associated with failed treatment and to have this evidence incorporated in health policy deliberations on funding, access, and eligibility.…”