Quality of Life and General Health in Pregnant Women Conceived with Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Case-Control Study

Infertility affects different aspects of life as well as quality of life (QOL) in infertile couples. Many infertile couples conceive via using Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART). However, the effect of pregnancy and childbearing on QOL is not known in these couples. This study aim was to evaluate quality of life and general health during pregnancy and after successful treatment of infertility in women conceived by ART.

In a case-control study quality of life and general heath were evaluated in 40 women conceived by ART and 40 women conceived spontaneously as control group. WHO quality of life- BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) inventory was used to evaluate quality of life and General Health Questionnaire–28 (GHQ-28) was applied to evaluate general health. These two questionnaires were completed in first and second trimester of pregnancy and compared between the two groups.

Mean age of women was 29.4±4.4 and 29.6± 5 years in ART and control group, respectively. Quality of life in women conceived by ART was similar to control group in first and second trimester of pregnancy while general health score (distress level) in women conceived by ART was significantly higher than control group in both trimesters. Although distress level decreased in second trimester in ART group but yet, it was higher than control group.

After pregnancy, quality of life in women conceived by ART is similar to women conceived spontaneously. However, these women experience higher distress level in first and second trimester of pregnancy compared to women conceived spontaneously.