The ‘Behind the Headlines’ service from NHS Choices has produced an assessment of press reports that “stress and tension does not prevent women undergoing infertility treatment from becoming pregnant” (The Daily Telegraph and others; 25th Feb 2010).

The assessment notes that these reports were based on a well-conducted systematic review and meta-analysis, which found that women who became pregnant following a single cycle of IVF did not differ in levels of anxiety or depression before their treatment than women who did not become pregnant.  The authors of the research concluded that their findings “should reassure women and doctors that emotional distress caused by fertility problems or other life events will not compromise the chance of becoming pregnant [through fertility treatment]”.

The authors of the assessment discuss the study’s design, findings and its strengths and limitations.  They say that it was a well-conducted review, and the researchers’ conclusions were appropriate.  They conclude that “based on this, pre-treatment emotional distress does not appear to reduce a woman’s chances of successful pregnancy through fertility treatment. It is worth noting that these results cannot tell us whether emotional distress has any effect on chances of natural conceptions.”