Does emotional support during the luteal phase decrease the stress of in vitro fertilization?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if phone calls between ET and pregnancy test, decrease stress levels as determined by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Women undergoing a first fresh cycle of assisted reproductive technology using autologous oocytes with a day 2 or 3 ET. INTERVENTION(S): Phone calls from specialized social workers or standard of care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Primary outcome was the change in PSS score from day of ET compared with 10 days after ET; secondary outcome was perceived patient benefit. RESULT(S): A total of 131 patients were randomized to the intervention (n = 66) or control (n = 65) group. No differences were seen in the final PSS score or the change in PSS score between groups. At the completion of the study, the intervention group was more likely to report that participating in this study was helpful (65.9% vs. 21.4%), as well as to recommend emotional support during an IVF cycle (95.4% vs. 78.6%). CONCLUSION(S): Although we observed no significant change in PSS score, first-cycle IVF patients felt that increased emotional support was needed during the waiting period between ET and pregnancy test. Additional research should be conducted to determine the best interventions for this time period.