Infertile women's satisfaction with the stress reduction care process during their treatment period: A clinical trial

Infertility has extensive psychological effects on infertile couple''s mood and spirits and imposes a lot of stress on the man and woman involved. Relaxation is an effective technique for eliminating and balancing stress. The present study was therefore conducted to determine the effect of the stress reduction care process during the treatment period on infertile women''s satisfaction. The present controlled clinical trial was conducted on 76 infertile women aged 18 to 35 undergoing IVF or ICSI treatments. A sample of the women admitted to Isfahan Infertility Clinic for receiving infertility treatments were selected using a simple sampling technique and were then randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group (n=36 in both). Relaxation techniques were performed on the intervention group for 12 sessions. Participants filled out the standard Newton Infertility Stress Questionnaire before and after the study (before the pregnancy tests). After taking their pregnancy tests، both groups filled out a questionnaire evaluating their satisfaction with the stress reduction care process. Statistical tests showed the lack of significant differences in the personal characteristics associated with fertility between the intervention group and the control group. The Mann Whitney test showed that satisfaction with the stress reduction care process during the treatment period was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to in the control group (P=0. 001). Using relaxation as a technique for reducing stress has a positive effect on the satisfaction of women with this care process (even in the case of women with negative pregnancy tests)، which can then reduce the rate of leaving treatment in those receiving interventions when their pregnancy tests come out negative.