Carrying out fertility treatments implies a vital crisis and emotional suffering since the search for a child does not go as expected, imagined or longed for. It is common for those who go through it to refer to going through various emotions: fear, anxiety, sadness, mistrust, uncertainty and often even hopelessness. In addition, these people must face many stressors. On the one hand, work permits must be requested for consultations and studies of a topic that is private and intimate and does not necessarily want to be reported. It is not something that involves a single consultation, but there are many steps and several must be carried out on very specific days.
On the other hand, these treatments are very expensive and are not covered in all countries. This often implies indebtedness, asking for loans, giving up other expenses and projects, conflicts in the couple (if any) and anguish. In addition, in places where coverage exists, patients must face the bureaucracy of social works, prepaid and health centers, which often put obstacles, refusing to cover some concepts, and/or delaying or dilating responses to be able to advance, even many times requiring the intervention of lawyers with all that that implies.
It is also very common for people to begin to withdraw into themselves, not wanting to share what they are going through, and this can interfere with their quality of life and their relationships.
All this leads to great physical and emotional exhaustion, affecting many areas of the patients’ lives, and in this way they decide to abandon the treatments without having been able to fulfill their wishes.
Much research has been carried out to understand the reason for the abandonment of treatments.
It has been found that many patients report psychological stress, others mention the financial burden involved in the treatments. Some consider that the wear and tear produced by the treatment and a lack of empathic bond with the treating doctor is another cause of abandonment. In general, stress and emotional pressure sustained over time are mentioned, since several treatment cycles often have to be repeated.
Many patients report that, despite the fact that it is a difficult decision, when deciding to leave they feel relieved of the stress they had been experiencing, although other new emotions to experience also appear.
All of this is consistent with studies showing that the rate of depression and anxiety in people experiencing reproductive difficulties is higher than in those without.
For all the above, it is very important to make visible the benefit of intervening with specialized psychological therapies that help reduce stress, anxiety, depression and that provide tools so that patients can face obstacles and the process in a way that allows them to sustain treatments setting the limit when they want it and not because of the emotional consequences produced by that process.
An approach that provides resources, advises patients, accompanies them, helps them reduce their levels of discomfort, helps them make decisions and resolve conflicts that arise along the way, etc., will be beneficial in reducing the rate treatment abandonment. There is no treatment more unsuccessful than the one that is not attempted or the one that is abandoned at the first obstacle.
Within all possible therapy options, From Wellness in Fertility We aim for patients to be able to go through the process strengthened, with tools to deal with treatments without having to abandon them due to emotional wear, dysfunctional coping or impact on quality of life.
Lic. Cecilia Lukaszewicz and Lic. Patricia Méndez Torterolo
@welfareinfertility
[email protected]
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