Rachel Cook

Anxiety, knowledge and satisfaction in women receiving false positive results on routine prenatal screening: a randomized controlled trial

The majority of women receiving an abnormal result on routine prenatal screening subsequently give birth to unaffected children. Previous studies have documented high levels of anxiety in women receiving such false positive results. In an attempt to reduce this anxiety, two methods of preparing women for undergoing such testing were compared: provision of detailed written information about maternal-serum alpha-fetoprotein testing; and anxiety management training. Eligible women were randomly allocated to one of five groups. Eighty-five women subsequently received false positive results on routine alpha-fetoprotein testing. There was some evidence that completing the study questionnaires had an anxiety-reducing effect. In contrast with the results of previous studies, there was no evidence that receipt of an abnormal alpha-fetoprotein result resulted in raised anxiety. Neither of the interventions, alone or in combination, had an effect upon anxiety following an abnormal alpha-fetoprotein result. Receipt of detailed written information however, led to women having more knowledge and being more satisfied with the amount of information that they had. One in three of the class groups reported that the classes had influenced the way they had dealt with worries. Although the interventions did not reduce anxiety in this study, there are other reasons for considering their incorporation into routine clinical practice.

Emotional, marital and sexual functioning in patients embarking upon IVF and AID treatment for infertility

Fifty-nine women attending infertility clinics for IVF and AID treatment were interviewed and asked to complete questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, marital functioning, sexual satisfaction and strategies for coping with infertility. Thirty-four of their partners also completed questionnaires. Both women and men experienced high levels of anxiety, but not depression. Assessment of current marital and sexual functioning did not reveal significant levels of problems. Women and men were divided into high and low distress groups and compared with respect to their use of different coping strategies. Those patients who were anxious and/or depressed were more likely to engage in avoidance-coping strategies than those who did not have emotional problems. No such relationship was found for avoidance coping and either marital or sexual functioning.

The relationship between sex role and emotional functioning in patients undergoing assisted conception

It is suggested that infertility may be distressing because it results in an inability to fulfil traditional roles and thus those individuals who adhere to traditional sex roles may be more distressed by the experience of infertility. In order to examine the relationship between sex role and emotional well-being in infertility patients, 58 women attending a clinic for assisted conception procedures and 31 of their male partners completed questionnaires assessing sex-role type (i.e. masculine, feminine, androgynous or undifferentiated) and emotional, marital and sexual functioning. Women with a traditional feminine sex-role type were more anxious than those with a masculine sex-role type but there were no differences in depression or marital or sexual functioning. Men with an undifferentiated sex-role type were more anxious and depressed than those with other sex-role types. The findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between sex role and infertility, previous research into sex differences in distress amongst infertility patients, and the problems associated with measuring distress.

A comparative study of attitudes towards donor insemination and egg donation in recipientspotential donors and the public

Attitudes towards egg donation and sperm donation were compared in four groups of subjects: patients receiving egg donationpatients receiving sperm donationpotential egg donors and a general population control group. Subjects were generally in favor of gamete donation as a treatment for infertilitywith patients having more positive attitudes than the general publicand recipients more in favor than donors. Whilst egg donation appears to be as acceptable as sperm donationthere were some differences in attitudes towards the two types of gamete donation. Subjects overall were more in favor of donor anonymity for sperm donation than for egg donationand the sperm recipients were more in favor of donor anonymity than egg recipients. Subjects demonstrated uncertainty on the issue of giving information to children conceived by gamete donationbut held positive attitudes towards the counseling of both donors and recipients. These results are considered in the light of current debate about gamete donation in the UK. ...