Identifying by means of coping typologies and primary appraisal the likelihood of positive β-hCG test results in women undergoing IVF treatment: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND

At a psychological level, having to undergo IVF in order to be a mother may be appraised differently by women who start this treatment. These different forms of assessment can affect the pregnancy rates. The objective of this study was to determine whether psychological variables such as primary appraisal and coping typologies were associated with positive results in β-hCG pregnancy test after IVF.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional clinical study in a private infertility centre. We recruited women undergoing IVF treatment in the Assisted Reproduction Unit of the Hospital Clinic prior to treatment commencement. Women were asked to complete the Spanish adaptation of the Coping Responses Inventory-Adult Form, and coping typologies analysed in relation to pregnancy outcome of that round of treatment.

RESULTS

Women who face infertility and IVF with optimistic appraisal had a considerably increased likelihood of pregnancy compared with those with a pessimistic appraisal (odds ratio = 4.37; 95% confidence interval = 1.76-10.83). On the other hand, the pregnancy rate was significantly higher than the non-pregnancy rate among women who have a coping typology characterized by high use of approach strategies and with low use of avoidance strategies (Z-test = 4.34, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Psychological variables such as positive appraisal and coping typologies were associated with increased pregnancy rates after IVF. The main limitations of this study were the size of the sample and in particular its cross-sectional design which only allows predictive associations to be made.