IVF mothers prone to mood disorders

Mothers who conceive through IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies have a higher risk for post-natal mood disorder and early parenting difficulties. Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, did a study of all mother-infant pairs admitted over a 3-year period to a hospital unit that specialised in the care of mothers with mood disorders or exhaustion and infants with sleeping or feeding problems. Of the 745 medical records that were reviewed, 526 specified the mode of conception. Overall, 6 percent of the infants admitted to the unit were conceived with the use of assisted reproductive technologies. By contrast, the rate in the general population was just 1.5 percent, suggesting that assisted conception does raise the risk of maternal mood disorder and infant sleeping or feeding problems. Compared with mothers who conceived spontaneously, those who had assisted conception were older, and more likely to have multiple births and undergo caesarean section. The above data suggests that obstetricians, paediatricians, and other clinicians caring for pregnant women and mothers and infants after childbirth should be conscious that a previous history of infertility, advanced maternal age, assisted conception, operative delivery, and multiple births may heighten the risk for postpartum mood disturbance and early parenting difficulties. However, further research designed to investigate the separate contributions of maternal age, modes of conception and delivery and of multiple births to postpartum psychological adjustment in women is needed.