he Effect of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy on State Anxiety among Infertile Women under IVF Treatment

Infertile women often use laboratory fertilization (IVF-ET), a stressful process, to fulfill their desire for childbearing. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training on state anxiety in infertile women undergoing IVF treatment.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with participation of 60 women with a history of infertility who were referred to an infertility treatment center in Mashhad and were selected via convenience sampling method and then randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received eight sessions of 2-hour mindfulness training weekly, while the control group did not receive any psychological services. The two groups completed the questionnaires before and after the intervention. Three months later, the test group completed the questionnaire again to track the effects of the educational intervention.Spielberger's state anxiety questionnaire was used to measure anxiety. Data analysis was performed using single-variable covariance via SPSS software version 21.

The mean (SD) age of the experimental group was 31.1 (4.9), and the control group 31.2 (5.1). The mean (SD) score of state anxiety in the experimental group decreased from 44.1 (12.8) in the pre-test to 41.4 (11.1) in the post-test and 40.8 (11.1) in the follow-up stage (P<0.001). However, the mean (SD) score of state anxiety in the control group decreased from 47.1 (12.3) in the pre-test to 46.5 (12.1) in the post-test and 46.2 (12.1) in the follow-up stage, which was not statistically significant.

The study showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training reduced state anxiety among infertile women undergoing IVF treatment