Infertility intrudes into the plans in one's personal life and the life of a couple, and causes mental suffering. In vitro fertilization is a new technique in reproductive technology and offers fresh hope of having children, but at the same time, it is considered to be a stressful experience. The aim of this study is to compare the emotional state of men and women undergoing in vitro fertilization and identify a possible relationship between women's emotional state and a successful outcome. Twenty couples in their first cycle of in vitro fertilization were included in this study. Men and women were submitted individually to psychological interviews and tests between 5 and 10 days after the transfer of pre-embryos. Women presented higher levels of anxiety and depression than men. Their self-esteem proved to be lower. Those women (25%) that presented psycho-emotional symptoms, did not get pregnant, however this relationship was not significant. Based on these findings, we conclude that women presented greater anxiety and symptoms of depression than the men and had lower self-esteem. The group of women with psycho-emotional symptoms displayed a tendency not to get pregnant.
Anxiety; Self-concept; Depression; Infertility
