Anger in women treated with assisted reproductive technology (ART): effects on mother and newborn

To assess anger, as well as other negative emotions, in women who underwent assisted reproductive technology (ART) respect to women who conceived naturally, and explore the effect of anger on neonatal outcomes.

We recorded personal and obstetric history of the patients, neonatal weight, Apgar score, obstetric and neonatal complications. We performed Structural Clinical Interview for DSM-SCID I and II in order to assess the DSM IV axis I and axis II, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 (STAXI-2), the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-rating Anxiety scale (SAS).

On the STAXI-2 scale, the ART group scored higher than the natural conception group on measures of general tendency and personality disposition to get angry. Moreover, the ART group women showed quite low levels of tolerance to negative environmental feedback. Our results further suggest that trait anger provides the most meaningful contribution as predictor of weight at birth. No significant differences were found for anxiety and depression between the two groups.

Our study highlights the important role of anger during pregnancy, and suggests the need for further studies on both biochemical and behavioural patterns in larger samples of women who became pregnant by ART.