Is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) more of a strain regarding satisfaction with marital quality for male or female partners? A three-year follow-up study

Abstract

Introduction: Men and women with a hereditary genetic disease are faced with different options when they plan to become parents. One is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) which is a combination of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and genetic analysis of the embryo before implantation. The present study focuses on how men and women planning for PGD experience the quality of marital satisfaction when they apply for treatment and again, three years later.

Methods: The study was a prospective cohort study where all couples (n = 22) applying for PGD during 2010 and 2011 were eligible. Nineteen women and 17 men (i.e. 17 couples and two women) participated. Participants answered several questionnaires (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Parental Stress Questionnaire) before PGD treatment, and again three years later.

Results: Women who underwent PGD rated the quality of their marital relationship similarly to that of first-time parents and IVF couples, whereas men rated the marital quality somewhat lower than the contrasts groups. Satisfaction with marital quality was stable over the three-year period although men were less satisfied than women on both occasions. At year three, there was a significant correlation between martial satisfaction and parental stress in men, and between martial satisfaction and anxiety and depression in women.

Discussion: Men are equally, or more, affected by their situation than their female partners, with consequences for satisfaction with marital quality. For this reason they should be included in any counselling offered.

Keywords:

• Clinical psychology
• consequences of infertility
• psychological effects on male experience
• reproductive medicine

Acknowledgments

The study was supported by Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation, Hjalmar Svensson Foundation, and the Iris Jonzén-Sandbloms and Greta Jonzéns Foundation.

Disclosure statement

Authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Current knowledge on the subject

• Research on marital relationship in couples undergoing infertility treatment is multifaceted and shows that infertility can be a strain but the relationship between partners can also be strengthened by the experience.

• Resilience and the ability to cope together as a couple are protective factors in preserving marital satisfaction in the face of infertility.

• Less is known about how couples who undergo PGD experience the quality of the marital relationship. Even though the medical technique is the same for these two groups, the situations differ since individuals in the PGD group have a hereditary genetic condition.

What this study adds

• Men are less satisfied with marital quality than women both at inclusion and three years after PGD.

• Three years after PGD both anxiety and depression among women correlated significantly with lower satisfaction with the quality of the relationship.

• Perceived parental stress in men, both at inclusion and after three years, correlated negatively with satisfaction with marital quality.