The majority (83%) reported feeling depressed, angry, or anxious frequently or constantly while receiving treatment, and nearly half (47%) reported experiencing depression.
Nearly 30% of respondents indicated they had such thoughts “often or all the time,” while 10% claimed they did so “sometimes or occasionally.”
A survey shows that one in ten patients who are getting fertility treatment have suicidal thoughts “all the time.”
The poll was done by Fertility Network UK, which said the results show the “far-reaching trauma” of having infertility and going through IVF in the UK.
98% of the respondents, or 4 out of 10, indicated they had felt suicidal at some point.
Nearly 30% of respondents indicated they had such thoughts “often or all the time,” while 10% claimed they did so “sometimes or occasionally.”
The majority (83%) reported feeling depressed, angry, or anxious frequently or constantly while receiving treatment, and nearly half (47%) reported experiencing depression.
The charity polled 1,300 fertility patients in the UK about their relationships, careers, finances, and mental health.
63% of those surveyed indicated they were responsible for paying for their own care, which on average costs around $16,000 for tests and treatments.
Approximately one in ten couples (12%) spent more than $35,000. According to estimates, 1 in 7 couples may experience difficulties getting pregnant.
Patients dealing with infertility face a “perfect storm”
Fertility patients experience ‘a perfect storm’, according to Gwenda Burns, chief executive of Fertility Network UK: “Not being able to have the child you long for is emotionally devastating.
“But then many fertility patients face a series of other hurdles, including potentially paying financially crippling amounts of money for their necessary medical treatment, having their career damaged, not getting information from their GP, experiencing their relationships deteriorate, and being unable to access the mental support they need.
“This is unacceptable. Infertility is a disease and is as deserving of medical help and support as any other clinical condition.”
Three out of four patients said that their doctor didn’t tell them enough about fertility problems and how to treat them.
Three-fifths (59%) of respondents had some negative influence on their relationship, while 2% of respondents claimed their relationship with their spouse terminated as a result of the stress from fertility therapy.
Alone, more than one in ten (15%) cut their hours at work or quit their job because of their treatment.
“This survey gives a sobering – some might say, shocking – insight into the wellbeing of subfertile people,” added Dr. Raj Mathur, chair of the British Fertility Society, “especially women, in Britain today.”
He continued, “we must do better as a society and a health system in looking after patients with fertility problems.”
The majority (69%) of respondents to the poll lived in England, and the average age at which they began their therapy was 33.7 years.
Steps should be taken to increase the availability and affordability of IVF therapy, according to Professor Geeta Nargund, medical director of CREATE Fertility.
According to her, “It is clear from this research that urgent change across public and private sectors is vital if we are to better support women during IVF and help reduce the burden of treatment.
“The discrepancy in NHS funding for IVF across the UK is hugely unfair, and women and couples should not be priced out of treatment by virtue of where they live,” she pointed out.
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