Anxiety during pregnancy and fetal attachment after in-vitro fertilization conception

The aim of this study was to compare 70 couples who had conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with 63 matched controls for the prevalence ofanxiety and quality of attachment to the baby during pregnancy. Results formothers showed no group differences using a global measure of anxiety, theSpielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. However, pregnancy-specificmeasures revealed significantly higher levels of anxiety in IVF mothersabout the survival and normality of their unborn babies, about damage totheir babies during childbirth and about separating from their babies afterbirth. When IVF mothers were differentiated according to the number oftreatment cycles, more differences in anxiety level were revealed, withmost increases occurring in mothers who had experienced two or moretreatment cycles. IVF fathers did not differ from controls on the globalanxiety measure. No data on pregnancy-specific anxiety were available forfathers. Neither IVF mothers nor IVF fathers differed from controls onmeasures of attachment to the baby during pregnancy. Results are discussedin the context of the need for researchers to employ differentiated andissue-specific measures to identify concerns that may be unique to IVFcouples. Clinical implications regarding the need for psychological supportduring pregnancy are also discussed.