Efficacy of psychosocial group intervention for Chinese women undergoing in-vitro fertilization : a prospective randomized controlled study

The effects of psychosocial interventions on the mental health, pregnancy rates, and marital function of infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization: a systematic review

“…Five intervention studies included a psycho-educational element [24,26,37,38,43], although in other studies this is usually conveyed as routine care. Training in a variety of skills was provided, including instruction in stress reduction techniques [25,27,28], relaxation techniques and exercise [24, 25, 27-29, 38, 43], communication skills [25,43], coping strategies [34,35], and problem-solving techniques [25]. The emotional support that was employed mainly focused on emotional expression and sharing.…”

“…Only four RCT studies reported significant positive effects from the interventions when compared to the control group [27,28,40,43]. All four of these studies were targeted at women.…”

“…All four of these studies were targeted at women. A study conducted in Hong Kong reported that women who had received a four-session, 3-h Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit intervention during the waiting period before the cycle had significantly lower levels of state anxiety on the day of ovarian stimulation (T1) and embryo transfer (T2) (state anxiety, T1 d = 0.59, T2 d = 0.46; trait anxiety, T1 d = 0.29; T2 d = 0.29) [28]. Similar findings were reported in another study conducted by the same authors that adopted an Eastern Body-Mind-Spirit intervention [27].…”

“…Apart from the above-mentioned outcomes that were measured, a total of 14 other psychological outcomes were measured in the included studies. Four studies showed interventions that had positive effects on five different measures, including the decreased importance of childbearing (post-test, d = 0.41; follow-up, d = 0.59) [28], reduced negative affect (follow-up, d = 0.35) [28], improved positive affect (followup, d = 0.20; group by time interaction, F[1,2652] = 16.15) [28,35], enhanced hardiness (d = 4.99) [25], and increased dispositional optimism (helpfulness, d = 0.69; suitability, d = 0.71; confidence, d = 0.66; enduring effects, d = 0.71; feeling positive, d = 0.83; future plans, d = 0.73; sustained coping, d = 0.70) [34]. The interventions that were adopted were the Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit intervention [28], the Positive Reappraisal Coping intervention [34,35], and CBT [25].…”

“…Although the differences between groups did not reach statistical significance, three of these eight studies [28,37,41] have been regarded as having positive and promising effects on pregnancy rates in a recent review [20]. The effect sizes of these interventions, including MBI, written emotional disclosure, and Internet-based intervention, have also been pooled using meta-analysis [20].…”