Psychological Intervention in the Oocyte Pick-up Room and Recovery Room in Assisted Reproduction: new listening accounts

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to identify the role and possible participation of a psychologist/psychoanalyst inside an Oocyte Pick-up Room and Recovery Room (OPR-RR) in an Assisted Reproduction clinic and its implications on patients and team. METHODS: Prospective study of psychological support during the procedures from September 2014 to December 2018. Most visits took place during oocyte retrievals, for either IVF/ICSI or gamete freezing. RESULTS: Of the 2,343 cases, the psychologist was present in 965 of them (41%), during oocyte retrievals, with available professionals in 59% of the times (722 cases). The embryo transfers (1,011) had psychological assistance in 20% of the time (218 cases). The intrauterine insemination cases were excluded for not happening in a surgical environment. The recovery room was identified as one of the spaces for welcoming and listening to anxieties, desires, projects, worries, fears, frustrations, joys and expectations for those who come to the clinic seeking the desire to gestate. The patients’ talks, collected in observations transcribed from what was heard, with dates and types of procedures, were discussed with either the team or the assistant physician. The team stands positively in the presence of a psychologist/psychoanalyst, who brings new perceptions and the development of the whole art of listening, for all involved. CONCLUSION: The presence of a psychologist/psychoanalyst in the Oocyte Pick-up Room and the Recovery Room in an Assisted Reproduction clinic means an opportunity to listen to patients’ emotions, providing well-being to patients and echoing in the teamwork relationships.