[Impressions od couples treated with fertilization in vitro of their treatment by the IVF center].
A preliminary study was designed to evaluate, among French couples treated for in vitro fertilization, their feelings about the delivered information on IVF and the degree of satisfaction about their treatment by the center. Anonymous forms were mailed to 3,000 couples, from which 835 were returned on time to be analyzed. Most of the couples expressed their satisfaction. However, 25% were disappointed by their first consultation, too short (14%) or too long to obtain (13%), especially for those treated in a public hospital. One quarter of couples waited for more than six months before their first cycle, more often in public practice than in private one, and 80% found this time lapse too long. One third of the couples changed of unit, 62% of them because of disappointment, mostly because of their relationship with the medical team, and only 20% because of poor results. Two thirds of the couples found IVF had repercussions on their couple's life, negatively in 31% of the cases. This percentage was higher for those with unsuccessful IVF (45%) than for those who got a pregnancy (22%). Information on IVF was judged as satisfactory only for two thirds of the couples, for any kind of information, and less than half of men were told how the inseminated semen quality was. Moreover, only 57% of the couples found the information reassuring. Local conditions for semen collection were judged to be bad by 30% of the men. Finally, this study showed that efforts still have to be made by units to better treat and inform IVF couples. It also seems necessary to undertake a prospective and more detailed study to better investigate the degree of satisfaction and its parameters.
Adjiman
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M
Inserm U292, 82, rue du Général-Leclerc, 94276 Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France.
de Mouzon
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J
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000523:psychology*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome