Infertility is a significant problem for millions of couples. Recently more attention is being paid to the relationship between infertility treatment with the use of Assisted Reproductive Techniques and the presence of mental disturbances, of which anxiety and depression are the most common. We present a review of recent studies evaluating the influence of anxiety and depression on fertility treatment outcomes and the effect of Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment on the presence of anxiety and depression among women. The studies show conflicting results concerning the effect of anxiety on Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment outcomes, but most reveal that Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment leads to an increased level of anxiety, especially in cases of treatment failure and longer durations of treatment. Most studies do not show a relationship between depression and Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment outcomes, but it seems that severe depression can lead to lower rates of pregnancy during infertility treatment with Assisted Reproductive Techniques. Moreover, women who become pregnant after Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment seem to have an increased risk of depression in later life.

After childbirth, women may develop symptoms of depression with the associated sleep disturbances. This study assessed the relationship between insomnia and both depression symptoms and blood estradiol levels in women during the early postpartum period. 84 patients were assessed 24-48 h after labor. The main assessment methods were the following psychometric scales: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Serum estradiol levels were measured using ELISA assay. Women who developed postpartum insomnia significantly more often reported insomnia during pregnancy (P = 0.001), were more likely to have suffered from depression in the past (P = 0.007) and had significantly higher BDI (P = 0.002) and EPDS (P = 0.048) scores. Our study demonstrated no significant association between Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy and postpartum insomnia. The groups of women with and without postpartum RLS showed no significant differences in the incidence of postpartum insomnia. No significant differences in estradiol levels were observed in women with and without postpartum insomnia. The study showed the following factors to play a major role in development of postpartum insomnia: an increase in Beck Depression Inventory score, a history of depression and a history of insomnia during pregnancy.