Aspettative ed esperienza del parto in donne sottoposte a Fivet.

[Autom. eng. transl.] The literature shows that pregnant women undergo medically assisted fertilization techniques show greater pregnancy-related distress and are more vulnerable to the development of forms of illness, such as anxiety and depressive disorders, in the months of waiting. However, the studies investigating the expectations of childbirth in women undergoing assisted fertilization are lacking; specifically, we do not know if these pregnant women are more afraid of giving birth than women who have had spontaneous conception. It follows that we are not able to define whether these (variable) elements affect the experience of childbirth - in its objective and subjective components - differently than in women with spontaneous conception. In light of these considerations, the present study explores the expectations regarding childbirth - with particular reference to the dimension of fear - in women undergoing IVF (In Vitro Fertilization with Embryo Transfer), in order to verify differences and commonalities with pregnant women with spontaneous conception (control group). It also investigates whether expectations, anxiety and depression can affect the "objective" trend of childbirth and the subjective experience of the woman and whether this happens differently than in the control group. 25 women undergoing IVF and 25 women with spontaneous conception were administered during pregnancy (8th-9th month): Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (Wijma et al., 1998); Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox et al., 1987); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1983), card on the course of pregnancy; about a month after giving birth to the same women were administered: Wijma Delivery Experience Questionnaire (Wijma et al., 1998) and a card on the progress of birth.