Psychosocial and professional burden of Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR): Results from a French survey

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of infertility and Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) throughout all aspects of life among infertile women and men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online survey included 1 045 French patients (355 men, 690 women) who were living or had lived the experience of infertility and MAR. The questionnaire included 56 questions on several domains: global feelings, treatment burden, rapport with medical staff, psychosocial impact, sexual life and professional consequences. RESULTS: Respondents had experienced an average of 3.6 (95% CI: 3.3–3.9) MAR cycles: 5% (n = 46) were pregnant, 4% (n = 47) were waiting to start MAR, 50% (n = 522) succeeded in having a live birth following MAR, 19% (n = 199) were currently undergoing ART, and 21% (n = 221) dropped out of the MAR process without a live birth. Satisfaction rates regarding the received medical care were above 80%, but 42% of patients pointed out the lack of information about non-medical support. An important impact on sexual life was reported, with 21% of patients admitted having not had intercourse for several weeks or even several months. Concerning the impact on professional life, 63% of active workers currently in an MAR program (n = 185) considered that MAR had strong repercussions on the organization of their working life with 49% of them reporting a negative impact on the quality of their work, and 46% of them reporting the necessity to lie about missing work during their treatment. CONCLUSION: Despite a high overall level of satisfaction regarding medical care, the burden of infertility and MAR on quality of life is strong, especially on sexuality and professional organization. Clinical staff should be encouraged to develop non-medical support for all patients at any stage of infertility treatment. Enterprises should be warned about the professional impact of infertility and MAR to help their employees reconcile personal and professional life.