Navigating Mental Health During IVF
Understanding the Emotional Journey
Undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can be an emotional rollercoaster. Many couples experience stress, anxiety, and even depression. It's important to acknowledge these feelings and seek support. Turns out starting a family is not at all "relaxing or fun." By the way, if you're reading this as a friend or family member of someone going through IVF please stop telling them to relax and have a good time. This is a myth. Studies have shown relaxation has nothing to do with fertility. This is just putting the blame on people for a medical problem that is not their fault.
Often you might hear phrases such as "just do IVF" implying it's an easy process. People often do not appreicate how much is involved. If someone has not been through it themselves they don't realize what it's like to undergo lab draws and ultrasounds multiples times per week.
What does IVF involve?
Everyone's fertility journey is unique. Fertility treatments do not always involved IVF and may start with other options such as a medication or another procedure called IUI (intrauterine insemination).
IVF itself is a very involved process. It includes 2-3 times per week lab draws, ultrasounds and often several injections. After an embryo transfer, the injections are daily and can be quite painful.
Fertility treatments can feel very invasive. It is extremely challenging to not blame yourself or beat yourself up in this process. It is also a lot to put your body and mind through.
IVF is hard enough if everything goes well but often there are a number of challenges along the way. You may not get as many embryos as you were hoping for (or any). You may have a failed embryo transfer (or many). The process can be incredibly disheartening and it's easily to feel like you're doing this all for nothing.
The medication are also hormonal in nature which can affect your mental health. The grief of infertility is enough to manage but this is often complicated by mood swings secondary to the large amounts of hormones you are putting in your body.
Therapy, therapy, therapy...
If you have the resources, please find a good therapist. Fertility treatments can bring up a lot of emotions and the medication can cause mood swings further straining your mental health. Individual therapy is really irreplaceable in this process. You can search for a therapist near you on psychologytoday.com. This is a great tool and you can also look up who takes your insurance. American Society for Reproductive Medicine also has a "find an expert" tool on their website.
We also offer group therapy here at Betula Mental Health. This is offered the first Wednesday of every month from 12-1. Sign up by clicking our book appointment link.
Believe it or not, reddit can be an excellent source of information for those going through IVF. This is can be a valuable tool to feel connected to others going through similar situations. This is not a replacement for mental health treatment or medical advice but it can be helpful to realize you're not the only one going through this.
Integrative Therapies
Integrative therapies such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga can complement your IVF treatment. They may not necessarily change the outcome of your cycle, but they may help you keep your sanity. Be kind to yourself. Do what feels supportive to you. This doesn't have to be fancy and may be a pint of ice cream and binge watching netflix.
There are some supplements that can improved sperm quality when undergoing IVF such as l-carnitine, coQ10 and fish oil.
It is a good idea to take folic acid when you're trying to conceve to prevent neural tube defects. There is also some evidence this can help with mood. Methyl-folate is the most bioavailable form of folate. A dose of 1 gram up to twice per day should provide plenty of folate. Largely, there aren't any supplements that have been proven to improve the outcomes of IVF.