title: A prospective study using Hatha Yoga for stress reduction among women waiting for IVF treatment.
abstract: Yoga has been found to be effective in treating anxiety and depression, reducing stress and improving the overall quality of life in the general population. Minimal research is available on the effect of stress-management programmes with IVF patients. Owing to the diversity of conditions treated, the poor quality of most studies, and the different assessment tools used to evaluate the psychological state, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions. Previous studies have used different mind-body interventions and general measures of stress without evaluation of specific stresses known to result from infertility and its treatment using standardized measures. In this single-centre study, 49 infertile women were recruited to participate in a 6-week Yoga class during 2013 while awaiting their IVF treatment. Study participants were asked to complete standardized questionnaires assessing fertility-related quality of life (FertiQoL), marital harmony (Dyadic Adjustment Scale [DAS]), state and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) before commencing and after completing the Yoga workshops. Anxiety, depression and fertility-specific quality of life showed improvement over time in association with participation in a 6-week Yoga programme in women awaiting their treatment with IVF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada. Electronic address: orongalia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Galia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oron
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allnutt
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Tasha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lackman
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sokal-Arnon
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Hananel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada. Electronic address: janet.takefman@muhc.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takefman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D015013:Yoga; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Yoga; in-vitro fertilization; infertility; stress