THE EXPERIENCE OF INFERTILITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF WOMEN UNDERGOING THE IVF PROCESS – A STUDY IN SERBIA
"Studies have shown that women facing infertility and undergoing the IVF process generally belong to the mentally healthy group of the population. However, their stress level and emotional reactions vary significantly. Besides, there are women who report higher anxiety and/or depression levels up to six months after an (unsuccessful) IVF process. The aim of this study is to determine the perception of the infertility experience and the functioning of domains particularly affected by overcoming infertility through IVF. Fourteen women were excluded from the study sample due to their secondary infertility: 9 women had already had a child conceived though IVF and 5 had conceived naturally – these respondents have a successful experience of overcoming infertility, as they do not face the possibility of remaining involuntarily childless. The final sample was comprised of 149 women, 23 to 45 years of age (M=35,50, SD=4,48). For 83,9% of the women, the ongoing IVF procedure was the first (38,3), the second (25,5) or the third (20,1) attempt, while the rest of respondents were going though IVF for the fourth to the eighth time. Infertility is considered the worst experience of their life by 67,8% of the respondents. 95,3% of the respondents in the study want psychological counseling, which is not an integral part of the IVF process in Serbia and thus not covered by the national health insurance. The “Fertility quality of Life” (FertiQoL; Boivin, Takefman and Braverman, 2011) Questionnaire was used for the assessment of quality of life. A one sample t-test shows statistically significant differences in experiencing difficulties in the observed domains. The respondents have the lowest scores on the Emotional subscale, meaning that the most pronounced feature is the impact of negative emotions (e.g., jealousy and resentment, sadness, depression) on quality of life. The score on the Social subscale is highest, which means that social interactions have not significantly been affected by fertility problems. In conclusion, the infertility experience is highly stressful for a significant number of women and they are in need of psychological support, especially for overcoming negative emotions. This can be done by defining a new way of life filled with contentment, one that is in accordance with their value systems, despite their experience of infertility."