The stress of undergoing fertility treatment does not increase the chances of divorce or break-up, a large-scale population study has found.
The conclusion to Portuguese research, which involved following 42,845 women in Denmark, is contrary to the popular belief that the disappointments of infertility and stress of treatment can put intolerable strain on relationships, leading to break-up.
Dr Mariana Martins from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Porto, presented the findings yesterday (5 July 2017) at the 33rd Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Geneva.
She said its results from the first study to follow a large cohort of couples over 16 years make them confident of their results. This should be “reassuring” for couples who have had or are contemplating IVF, she added.
The cohort study is based on registry data of all women having assisted reproduction treatment (ART) in Denmark between 1994 and 2009.
Marital/cohabiting status was confirmed for two years before inclusion in the cohort, which was then matched (for age) with a control group from the general population.
During the 16-year follow-up, the majority of couples had children with their baseline partners (56% non-ART vs 65% ART), and about 20% of ART couples separated compared with 22% non-ART.
Although initial findings revealed a lower risk of break-up among the ART couples, when subsequent children were added to the model, and after adjusting for both partners’ age, education and partnership status, the researchers found no difference in the risk of marriage/partnership break-up.
"This significant interaction between ART status and common children suggests that the risk of break-up is mainly influenced by childlessness," explained Dr Martins.
"We have previously found that subjects who divorce, repartner and come back to treatment are the ones that five years before had the most stress.
"We also know that despite all the strain that this infertility can bring, going through ART can actually bring benefit to a couple’s relationship, because it forces them to improve communication and coping strategies."
Abstract: Does ART treatment increase the risk for divorce? A registered-based study 1994-2010
Leave a Reply