Counseling-supportive interventions to decrease infertile women's perceived stress: A systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Psychology
• Systematic Review

Background:

• Infertility is a global issue causing significant stress, affecting individual, familial, marital, and social stability.
• Women's mental health is crucial, with stress potentially impacting fertility treatment outcomes.
• Effective stress management strategies are vital for improving pregnancy success rates in infertile women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review interventions for reducing perceived stress in infertile women.
• To identify effective counseling and supportive strategies for managing infertility-related stress.
• To enhance healthcare providers' understanding and application of stress-reduction techniques.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of studies published from 1990 to May 2016.
• Searches conducted across multiple databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL.
• Methodological quality assessment and data extraction from 29 full articles.

Main Results:

• Identified interventions for reducing perceived infertility stress were categorized into supportive and counseling approaches.
• Supportive interventions aim to provide emotional and practical assistance.
• Counseling interventions focus on psychological support and coping strategies.

Conclusions:

• There is international consensus on the need for fertility centers to offer psychological support programs.
• Counseling and supportive interventions are crucial for decreasing perceived stress in infertile women.
• Implementing these interventions can lead to improved treatment outcomes and better pregnancy consequences.