Motives for parenthood and response to failed in vitro fertilization: Implications for counseling

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to identify in vitro fertilization (IVF) candidates' motives for parenthood and hence for seeking treatment. The relationship among identified motives, pretreatment emotional adjustment, and reaction to treatment failure was then examined. Women as a group placed greatest emphasis on fulfilling gender-role requirements, and those strongly endorsing such motives showed the poorest adjustment before IVF and the most negative reaction to first-cycle failure. In contrast, men in general were more likely to stress a desire for marital completion, although this motive was not predictive of emotional status before or after IVF. However, men experiencing social pressures to have children were at greater risk when treatment failed. The results indicate that greater consideration of cognitive factors may enhance understanding of emotional reactions to IVF failure and provide important insights for therapeutic intervention.

Childbearing Motivations Scale: Construction of a New Measure and its Preliminary Psychometric Properties

“…Factor 3 also seems to reflect the sense of traditional parenthood (Miller, 1995), aspirations of immortality and sharing of personal values (Seaver et al, 1977) that have been part of the structure of the Childbearing Motivation Questionnaire and the Parenthood Motivation Questionnaire. On its turn, The Couple Relationship (Factor 4) refers to strengthened partnership ties or growth as a couple, being similar to relationship (Cassidy & Sintrovani, 2008) and marital completion (Newton et al, 1992) subdimensions that have been identified in prior instruments.…”

“…Finally, most available instruments have been studied in samples of college students (O'Laughlin & Anderson, 2001) and pregnant or infertile couples (Bell et al, 1985;Cassidy & Sintrovani, 2008;Gauthier et al, 2007;Newton et al, 1992;Van Balen & Trimbos-Kemper, 1995). Few instruments have been studied in samples from the general population (Miller, 1995;Seaver et al, 1977), especially in the present-day context (Langdridge et al, 2005;Stöbel-Richter et al, 2005).…”

“…Part of available instruments exclusively measures positive childbearing motivations, such as the Parenthood Motivation Scale (Cassidy & Sintrovani, 2008), the Motivation to have a Child Scale (Gauthier et al, 2007), the Reasons for Parenthood Scale (Newton et al, 1992), the Parenting Expectation Questionnaire (O'Laughlin & Anderson, 2001), or the Parenthood Motivation List (Van Balen & Trimbos-Kemper, 1995). These instruments have provided some understanding about the subdimensions of positive childbearing motivations, categorizing them as intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (i.e., based on the internal or external rewards of having a child; Gauthier et al, 2007;O'Laughlin & Anderson, 2001) or organizing them into more specific subdimensions (i.e., 4, 5 or 6), such as marital completion, social pressure, or continuity (Cassidy & Sintrovani, 2008;Newton et al, 1992;Van Balen & TrimbosKemper, 1995). However, these instruments have failed to measure negative childbearing motivations that distinguish themselves from positive childbearing motivations and also influence reproductive behaviors (Miller, 1995).…”

Uma abordagem qualitativa às motivações positivas e negativas para a parentalidade

“…As dimensões biológicas/físicas têm sido relacionadas com a concretização de um instinto ou "apelo" do relógio biológico (Inborn & Van Balen, 2002) e a afirmação da sua fertilidade (Shover 2005) ou masculinidade/feminilidade (Newton, Hearn, Yuzpe, & Houle, 1992). O desejo de viver a gravidez e o parto (Miller, 1995) e os laços biológicos (Miller, Millstein, & Pasta, 2008) têm sido igualmente contemplados.…”

Efficacy of Group Reality Therapy on Anxiety in Infertile Women Undergoing Treatment with Assisted Reproductive Techniques IUI

“…The results showed that women who participated in the group meetings (compared to the control group) showed less anxiety after IVF, however, the men who participated in the meetings (compared to the control group or those women who were undertreatment) were more optimistic and confirmed many of their irrational beliefs. Studies byTerzioglu (2001) and Newton et al (1992) on the effect of psychological and psychiatric interventions on mental disorders in infertile couples showed that psychological interventions lead to reduction of anxiety and depression in them.…”