ABSTRACT

People facing infertility are inevitably affected by COVID-19 pandemic, having to delay their parental projects. This study aimed to explore the emotional impact (depression and anxiety symptoms and perceived stress) of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portuguese women pursuing assisted reproductive technology (ART). Results showed 67.4% of participants were in confinement but were dealing with it in a reasonably positive way. Women who continued to work at their workplace presented significantly higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms than those who stayed at home. No significant differences were found regarding depression and anxiety symptoms scores when comparing the current sample with an infertility reference sample and a community sample. Depressive and anxiety symptoms remained stable, but there was a significant decrease in perceived stress over the eight-week period. Although these findings do not suggest a worsening of psychological difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health professionals should be attentive to patients’ long-term psychological consequences. It may be helpful to provide additional psychological support to women when restarting their ART treatments.

摘要

面临不孕症的人不可避免地受到 COVID-19 大流行的影响，不得不推迟他们的父母项目。本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 大流行对追求辅助生殖技术 (ART) 的葡萄牙女性的情绪影响（抑郁和焦虑症状以及感知压力）。结果显示，67.4% 的参与者处于禁闭状态，但以一种相当积极的方式处理它。与留在家中的女性相比，继续在工作场所工作的女性表现出的抑郁和焦虑症状明显更高。将当前样本与不孕症参考样本和社区样本进行比较时，在抑郁和焦虑症状评分方面没有发现显着差异。抑郁和焦虑症状保持稳定，但在八周期间，感知压力显着下降。尽管这些发现并未表明 COVID-19 大流行导致心理困难恶化，但卫生专业人员应注意患者的长期心理后果。在重新开始 ART 治疗时，为女性提供额外的心理支持可能会有所帮助。