Abstract
Aim of this study was to investigate whether parental mental representations during pregnancy and after delivery differed between parents who conceived after Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART) and spontaneous conceiving (SC) parents. Effects of specific ART variables (previous ART attempts, treatment type and cause of infertility) were also taken into account. Seventeen ART couples and 25 SC couples were recruited at Santa Maria Nuova Hospital (Reggio Emilia, Italy). At both 32 weeks of gestation (T1) and 3 months postpartum (T2) participants completed the Semantic Differential of the IRMAG, a self-report tool which measures specific domains of mental representations pertaining either individual (Child, Self-as-woman/man, and Partner) or parental (Self-as-parent, Own parent) characteristics. Results showed that ART parents had significantly more positive representations of the child compared to SC parents, while the scores at Partner dimension improved from T1 to T2 for SC parents only. With regards to ART history, scores at the Self-as-woman/man dimension were significantly less positive for ICSI than IVF parents and improved substantially from T1 to T2 only in case of mothers with previous ART attempts and of fathers at the first ART cycle. The representation of own parents increased from T1 to T2 in case of infertility diagnosis due to male factors, while a decrease emerged when infertility was due to female factors. Findings suggest the need to investigate parental mental representations after ART, in order to improve the understanding on the transition to parenthood of infertile couples and to target more specific intervention for parenting support.
Highlights
Infertility represents a relevant health issue in many countries across the world, so much so that it currently affects about one in eight couples of reproductive age (McLachlan and O’Bryan, 2010)
We aimed to answer to the following research questions: (1) Do mental representations in the perinatal period differ depending on both conceiving method (ART vs. spontaneous conceiving (SC)), parental role and time of assessment? (2) Are the characteristics of mental representations in Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART) parents influenced by variables pertaining ART treatment, such as cause of infertility, presence of previous ART attempts, and treatment type?
With respect to the four representations areas, the only significant result was obtained for Interpersonal Style where an interaction effect time of assessment conception modality [F(1,80) = 6.65; p < 0.05; partial η2 = 0.08] was found: scores for ART parents increased from T1 to T2, while those for SC parents decreased (Table 3)
Summary
Infertility represents a relevant health issue in many countries across the world, so much so that it currently affects about one in eight couples of reproductive age (McLachlan and O’Bryan, 2010). Previous failed ART cycles may negatively influence the quality of parent-infant interactions (Wang et al, 2014; Allan et al, 2019) and represent an aggravating factor, associated with high infant fussiness and difficulties during free parent-infant interactions (McMahon et al, 1997; Agostini et al, 2020). Treatment type represents another influencing variable to be included in studies about ART parenting, as it associates to the severity of the infertility diagnosis. Agostini et al (2020) showed that infants conceived through ICSI had higher levels of both compulsivity and passivity during interactions with their parents compared to IVF infants
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
