Posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression following pregnancies conceived through fertility treatments:the effects of medically assisted conception on postpartum well-being

OBJECTIVE: To compare the postpartum prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression in women who conceived via medically assisted conception (MAC) and women who conceived naturally.STUDY DESIGN: All women (n = 907) who delivered under supervision of four independent midwifery practices and three hospitals in the Netherlands during a 3-month period were asked to complete questionnaires on demographic, logistic, psychosocial and obstetric characteristics two to six months postpartum. In this cross-sectional study PTSD was measured with the Traumatic Event Scale-B; anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.RESULTS: The response rate was 47% (428 participants). No significant differences were found in the prevalence of PTSD (0.0% vs. 1.3%; odds ratio [OR] = 0.0, confidence interval [CI]: 0-infinity), anxiety (28.1% vs. 22.2%; OR = 1.4, CI: 0.6-3.1) and depression (9.4% vs. 14.6%; OR = 0.6, CI: 0.8-2.0) between the 32 women who conceived via MAC and the 396 women who conceived naturally.CONCLUSION: We did not find significant differences in the prevalence of PTSD, anxiety and depression between women who conceived via MAC and women who conceived naturally.