Fertility problems need to start from the "heart": do a good job of psychological intervention to improve the success rate of infertility treatment

At present, intervention methods for psychological problems related to assisted reproduction include drug intervention and non-drug intervention. Psychological intervention can play an important role in non-drug intervention . The main non-drug intervention modes include cognitive-behavioral intervention (CBT), body-mind-spirit intervention (BMSI), and dyadic coping intervention , which can be carried out through individual cases or groups.

Cognitive-behavioral intervention refers to changing behavior and eliminating negative emotions by changing thinking or beliefs. Therefore, treatment often relies on some measures to change cognition, such as psychological counseling, interviews, homework, task training, self-observation of behavior and emotions, etc.

Gorayeb et al. conducted an RCT study on 188 women undergoing IVF in Brazil. The data showed that cognitive-behavioral intervention to control stress before IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can improve the success rate of the operation and reduce negative emotions during the treatment.

Mosalanejad et al. conducted a cognitive-behavioral intervention for 1 hour and 30 minutes per week on 31 infertile women in Iran. The results showed that the psychological resistance (to anxiety, depression and stress) of the intervention group was greater than that of the control group.

Mind-body intervention focuses on enhancing the connection between body and mind to relax the body and mind. Specific intervention methods include meditation, yoga, etc.

Chan et al. conducted an Eastern Mind and Body (EBMS) group intervention on 227 women undergoing IVT in Hong Kong and found that the EBMS intervention effectively reduced the anxiety level of women undergoing IVF. Domar et al. conducted a mind and body intervention study on 143 American women under the age of 40 undergoing IVF treatment and proved that the anxiety and depression levels of women in the intervention group were reduced.

German scholar Bodenmann once proposed the Dyadic Coping Theory, which defines Dyadic Coping as the process in which partners support each other through individual and joint efforts when one partner or both partners encounter stress during the period of disease stress. Since infertility and IVF treatment are usually experienced by couples together, improving the dyadic coping level of women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment through psychological intervention can help improve their mental health.

Ying et al. conducted a pilot study involving 100 couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in Zhejiang, China. Medical social workers provided psychoeducation, relaxation training, and meditation counseling to the couples. The results showed that women in the intervention group had significant improvements in partnership and dyadic coping, and their anxiety levels were significantly lower than those in the control group.

Assisted reproduction is a treatment project that requires long-term time, energy and financial resources. While paying attention to the treatment effect, special attention should be paid to the mental health of infertile women. If you notice that your relatives or friends are troubled by this, you can recommend them to cultivate habits such as meditation, yoga, writing, etc., and to receive psychological counseling or participate in relevant psychological interventions to improve their mental health while giving them comfort. Assisted reproduction has never been the responsibility of one party alone. Improving the couple's dyadic coping level may increase the success rate of treatment while improving mental health.

Editor: Liu Yang and Zhao Na

Proofread by Li Na and Li Yule

Producer: Peng Bin

[Copyright Statement] "Pumch Medical Journal" advocates respect and protection of intellectual property rights. Reprinting and quoting are welcome, but authorization from this platform is required. If you have any questions about the content and copyright of the article, please send an email to [email protected], and we will communicate with you in a timely manner. Some of the pictures in this article are produced with the assistance of AI. The content is only for communication and learning, not for profit; popular science content is only used to popularize public health knowledge. Readers should not use it as a basis for individual diagnosis and treatment, and do not dispose of it on their own to avoid delaying treatment. For medical treatment, please visit the Peking Union Medical College Hospital APP online or offline.