Parenting after assisted conception by in vitro fertilisation, gift or donor insemination

Abstract

Experiences of infertile parents of firstborn infants who were conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and donor insemination (DI) were compared with those of parents who had conceived naturally. The subjects were 22 couples in the IVF group, 26 couples in the DI group and 51 couples in the normal conception group. Prior to the birth of the infants, quantitative data was gathered through structured home interviews from both mothers and fathers regarding their expectations of parenting, and on their levels of State and Trait anxiety (Spietberger,1983). Information from infertile couples regarding the medical and psychological history of infertility and obstetric information was gathered from all couples. During the 18 months of study following the birth of the infant, information was obtained from published questionnaires about the stresses experienced during parenting (parenting Stress Index; Abidin, 1986) and the development of the infant (Bayley Scales of Infant Development; Bayley, l969). Parents recorded the difficulties, satisfactions and experiences of parenting through a structured weekly diary, which also recorded the support available. Examples of parent-child interactions in structured play situations were video-taped and analysed using categories defined by Belsky (1980). Information from a second structured home interview from both mothers and fathers regarding their experiences of parenting was obtained when the infants were 18 months old. Women who had conceived by in vitro fertilisation had an increased risk of early delivery and low birth weight infants but there was no evidence of group differences in the levels of stress in pregnancy. The IVF group was significantly different in the ways in which they prepared for parenting as they invested less in the pregnancy and expected to have more difficulties in adjusting to parenthood because of age. There were noticeably more similarities than differences between the groups. In general, parenting stress levels were consistent over time except for the IVF group which reported lower stress from the infant's ability to adapt at 10 months. In contrast, at the same time the IVF group reported higher stress from their marital relationship. The cognitive and psychomotor levels of development of the infants were not significantly different. Gender differences in parenting experience were obtained. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for couples in transition to parenthood after assisted conception and the development of the resulting children.