Piergiuseppina Fagandini

Depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood following assisted reproductive technology

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between assisted reproduction technology (ART) and depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and early parenthood. DESIGN Case-control longitudinal study. SETTING The Center of Reproductive Medicine, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy. PATIENT(S) Women who conceived by ART compared with men and compared with women following spontaneous conceptions. INTERVENTION(S) The sample of 87 subjects, 48 ART (25 mothers, 23 fathers; response rate of 30%) and 39 non-ART mothers were evaluated by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 30-32 weeks of gestation, and at 1 week and 3 months after delivery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Mean scores and prevalence of low scores. RESULT(S) The main sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics were similar between groups. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores were higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during all assessments and higher during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 1 week postpartum compared with ART men. The prevalence of depressed subjects was significantly higher in ART women compared with non-ART women during the antenatal assessment. CONCLUSION(S) Assisted reproductive technology pregnancies are more frequently associated with depressive symptoms that may persist after delivery, suggesting a greater emotional vulnerability of these women. The risk of depression during and following ART pregnancies needs monitoring to avoid adverse effects of postpartum depression on the mother-infant relationship and infants psychologic development.

A comparison of quality of life following spontaneous conception and assisted reproduction

To compare the levels of and changes in quality of life (QoL) during pregnancy between couples who conceived spontaneously and couples who underwent successful treatment by assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Parental mental representations during late pregnancy and early parenthood following assisted reproductive technology

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the relationship between assisted reproduction technology (ART) and parental mental representations during late pregnancy and early parenthood. Study design: Women (n=25) following ART pregnancies were compared with their partners (n=23) and with women following spontaneous conceptions (n=39). Subjects were interviewed on mental representations at late gestation and three months postpartum. Results: Socio-demographic and obstetrical characteristics were similar between groups. ART women tend to decrease scores of intensity of investment from before to after delivery. During pregnancy and postpartum, ambivalent representations were more often present and well-integrated representations were less often present among ART women as compared with non-ART women. ART women had significantly more ambivalent representations that persisted at three months postpartum, and men had more disengaged representations. Conclusions: A greater desire for pregnancy exists in ART women which might not always coincide with a desire for maternity. ART men, however, manifest greater disengagement from the entire child project.