The mind/body program for infertility: a new behavioral treatment approach for women with infertility

There is increasing evidence that a behavioral treatment approach might be efficacious in the treatment of the emotional aspects of infertility and may lead to increased conception rates. The first 54 women to complete a behavioral treatment program based on the elicitation of the relaxation response showed statistically significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and fatigue as well as increases in vigor. In addition, 34% of these women became pregnant within 6 months of completing the program. These findings established a role for stress reduction in the long-term treatment of infertility. They further suggest that behavioral treatment should be considered for couples with infertility before or in conjunction with reproductive technologies such as intrauterine insemination and gamete intrafallopian transfer.     

Alleviation of premenstrual syndrome symptoms with the relaxation response

During a 5-month study, we examined the effects of the relaxation response on premenstrual syndrome in 46 women who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a charting group, a reading group, and a relaxation response group. The relaxation response group showed significantly greater improvement than the charting and the reading groups on physical symptoms (P less than .025 for both comparisons). There was a significant group-by-severity effect for charting versus relaxation response and for reading versus relaxation response on symptoms measured daily (P less than .01 for both comparisons), on emotional symptoms measured retrospectively (P less than .001 and P less than .025, respectively), and on symptoms of social withdrawal measured retrospectively (P less than .01 and P less than .025, respectively). Women with severe symptoms in the relaxation response group showed a 58.0% improvement, compared with a 27.2% improvement for the reading group and a 17.0% improvement for the charting group. We conclude that regular elicitation of the relaxation response is an effective treatment for physical and emotional premenstrual symptoms, and is most effective in women with severe symptoms.     

Impact of group psychological interventions on pregnancy rates in infertile women

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of two different group psychological interventions on viable pregnancy rates in women experiencing infertility of less than 2 years' duration.Design: Prospective, controlled, single-blind, randomized study. SETTING: Large tertiary-care teaching hospital. PATIENT(s): One hundred eighty-four women who had been trying to get pregnant for 1 to 2 years. INTERVENTION(s): Participants were randomized into a 10-session cognitive-behavioral group, a standard support group, or a routine care control group. They were followed for 1 year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(s): Viable pregnancy. RESULT(s): Sixty-four [corrected] women discontinued participation in the study within the first year. There were a total of 47 in the cognitive-behavioral group, 48 in the support group, and 25 in the control group. There were statistically significant differences between participants in the two intervention groups versus the control group. CONCLUSION(s): Group psychological interventions appear to lead to increased pregnancy rates in infertile women.