The psychological predictors of pain during IVF egg retrieval

Pain ratings were collected from 34 women undergoing the egg retrieval procedure which is part of IVF treatment. Measures of state and trait anxiety, personality factors (as measured using EPQ-R), specific anxiety about treatment failure and about experiencing pain during the egg retrieval procedure were taken prior to egg retrieval. Only the specific fear of pain and the Lie scale scores from the EPQ-R were significantly correlated with women's actual self-reported pain experience. The levels of pain reported by the women were relatively high and were unrelated to their doctors' predictions of their likely pain based on known medical/physical factors. The implications of the findings for pain management during egg retrieval are discussed.