title: Spontaneous conception in a 50-year old woman after giving up in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) treatments: involvement of the psychological relief in successful pregnancy.
abstract: A healthy woman, married at age 45, hoped to have their child without delay. She and her husband subsequently decided to pursue in-vitro-fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). In the succeeding year, ET was performed twice from four oocyte retrieval attempts, which represented six ovarian stimulation cycles. Pregnancy was not achieved. Because of her poor responses to ovarian stimulation, inferior oocyte grading and prohibition of donor oocyte usage in Japan, the couple decided to discontinue further IVF treatment at age 48 years, 10 months. One and one-half years later, at age 50 years, 3 months she presented to our clinic eight weeks pregnant. At term she delivered vaginally a 2740 g healthy infant at 38 weeks gestation; Apgar scores were 9 and 10. During her pregnancy, she willingly participated in our questionnaire designed to provide information about her psychological well-being during the past three years. During the time spanning her treatment for infertility, anxiety, depression, irritability, fatigue and grief were revealed to coexist with her high hopes of having a child. After termination of infertility treatments these adverse psychological findings were markedly lessened and her vigour was restored. Stopping infertility treatment might be a viable alternative for achieving pregnancy in similarly psychologically-challenged infertile women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Growth and Reproductive Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan. hide-m@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hidehiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsubayashi
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosaka
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Shun-ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Tsunehisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Makino
mesh_terms: D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D007564:Japan; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017211:Treatment Failure