Life satisfaction in parents after successful in vitro fertilization and natural pregnancy: a prospective longitudinal study from before pregnancy to 24 months after childbirth

Abstract

Changes in psychological variables in couples after successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) have rarely been investigated. This paper describes follow-up assessments of a previously published study investigating changes in life satisfaction, stress and worry related to childbirth in couples undergoing IVF and those with natural pregnancy. Questionnaire data were obtained in 75 IVF couples and 70 couples with natural pregnancy before pregnancy, and at 6 and 12 months postpartum; follow-up data were recorded 18 and 24 months postpartum. IVF couples had less favourable baseline scores for all variables than those with natural pregnancy. Their life satisfaction increased, stress and worry decreased, during the first year postpartum. Couples with natural pregnancy reported transient worsening in all variables during this period. During follow-up, all variables remained largely stable in both groups; while life satisfaction and stress no longer differed between groups, worry was lower in IVF couples at month 24. Gender differences were small in both groups. In IVF couples, negative impacts of infertility may fully abate after childbirth; in naturally conceiving couples, initial negative changes in wellbeing are reversed and stabilized during the child´s first 2 years. Both groups may benefit from psychological support at different times during pregnancy and parenthood.

Keywords:

• In vitro fertilization
• pregnancy
• childbirth
• life satisfaction
• stress
• worry

Acknowledgment

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Public Health Authorities of South Tyrol, Italy. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Manuel Kiesswetter, Erik Danay and Stefan Duschek. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Manuel Kiesswetter and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The research data of the study is available to the public via the repository Open Science Framework (OSF: osf.io/7u4qp/).