TY - JOUR
T1 - Symptoms of anxiety and depression in lesbian couples treated with donated sperm
T2 - a descriptive study
AU - Borneskog, Catrin
AU - Sydsjö, Gunilla
AU - Lampic, Claudia
AU - Bladh, Marie
AU - Svanberg, Agneta Skoog
N1 - © 2013 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2013 RCOG.
PY - 2013/6/1
Y1 - 2013/6/1
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To investigate symptoms of anxiety and depression in lesbian couples undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART), and to study the relationship of demographic data, pregnancy outcome and future reproductive plans with symptoms of anxiety and depression.DESIGN: Descriptive, a part of the prospective longitudinal 'Swedish study on gamete donation'.SETTING: All university clinics in Sweden performing gamete donation.POPULATION: A consecutive sample of 214 lesbian couples requesting assisted reproduction, 165 of whom participated.METHODS: Participants individually completed three study-specific questionnaires and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS): time point 1 (T1), at commencement of ART; time point 2 (T2), approximately 2 months after treatment; and time point 3 (T3), 2-5 years after first treatment.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anxiety and depression (HADS), pregnancy outcome and future reproductive plans.RESULTS: The vast majority of lesbian women undergoing assisted reproduction reported no symptoms of anxiety and depression at the three assessment points. A higher percentage of the treated women, compared with the partners, reported symptoms of anxiety at T2 (14% versus 5%, P = 0.011) and T3 (10% versus 4%, P = 0.018), as well as symptoms of depression at T2 (4% versus 0%, P = 0.03) and T3 (3% versus 0%, P = 0.035). The overall pregnancy outcome was high; almost three-quarters of lesbian couples gave birth 2-5 years after sperm donation treatments. Open-ended comments illustrated joy and satisfaction about family building.CONCLUSION: Lesbian women in Sweden reported good psychological health before and after treatment with donated sperm.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To investigate symptoms of anxiety and depression in lesbian couples undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART), and to study the relationship of demographic data, pregnancy outcome and future reproductive plans with symptoms of anxiety and depression.DESIGN: Descriptive, a part of the prospective longitudinal 'Swedish study on gamete donation'.SETTING: All university clinics in Sweden performing gamete donation.POPULATION: A consecutive sample of 214 lesbian couples requesting assisted reproduction, 165 of whom participated.METHODS: Participants individually completed three study-specific questionnaires and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS): time point 1 (T1), at commencement of ART; time point 2 (T2), approximately 2 months after treatment; and time point 3 (T3), 2-5 years after first treatment.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anxiety and depression (HADS), pregnancy outcome and future reproductive plans.RESULTS: The vast majority of lesbian women undergoing assisted reproduction reported no symptoms of anxiety and depression at the three assessment points. A higher percentage of the treated women, compared with the partners, reported symptoms of anxiety at T2 (14% versus 5%, P = 0.011) and T3 (10% versus 4%, P = 0.018), as well as symptoms of depression at T2 (4% versus 0%, P = 0.03) and T3 (3% versus 0%, P = 0.035). The overall pregnancy outcome was high; almost three-quarters of lesbian couples gave birth 2-5 years after sperm donation treatments. Open-ended comments illustrated joy and satisfaction about family building.CONCLUSION: Lesbian women in Sweden reported good psychological health before and after treatment with donated sperm.
KW - Adult
KW - Anxiety/epidemiology
KW - Chi-Square Distribution
KW - Depression/epidemiology
KW - Female
KW - Follow-Up Studies
KW - Homosexuality, Female/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous/psychology
KW - Pregnancy/psychology
KW - Prospective Studies
KW - Psychological Tests
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Sweden
KW - Time Factors
U2 - 10.1111/1471-0528.12214
DO - 10.1111/1471-0528.12214
M3 - Article
C2 - 23489411
VL - 120
SP - 839
EP - 846
JO - BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
JF - BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
SN - 1470-0328
IS - 7
ER -