Prenatal Attachment and Anxiety: Women Who Decide to Try in Vitro Fertilization and Women Who Procreate Naturally

Abstract

Women who conceived after in vitro fertilization are emotionally vulnerable; they show high level of anxiety and distress compared with women who procreated naturally; level of anxiety seem to be related to their welfare and the fear of being separated from their son. Aims of this study are: to compare prenatal attachment and level of anxiety among women after IVF (in vitro fertilization) and women who conceived naturally; to identify predictors of attachment during pregnancy. We hypothesize: (1) a correlation between anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment in both groups; (2) the absence of a relationship between maternal age, waiting time to conception and maternal-fetal attachment in control group; and (3) a relationship between gestational age, waiting time to conception, fear of not being pregnant, and MFA (maternal-fetal attachment) in study group. The sample is made up of: control group of 48 women, aged between 18 and 41 years (24-37 gestational weeks); study group of 43 women aged between 21 and 42 years (23-37 weeks). They completed: MFAS (Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale), STAI (The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic data. The results show that the fear of not getting pregnant is positively correlated with age and with high-risk pregnancy. In the study group, the interaction between gestational age and chronological age influences the state anxiety; the interaction between high-risk pregnancy and waiting period influences the MFAS, the state and trait anxiety. Implications of this study and directions for further research are discussed.