How to be more optimistic and hopeful about your IVF treatment ?

It's completely normal for IVF patients to have multiple fears, worries, and anxieties both before and during their IVF treatment. This is partly because there is so much they don't understand about the medical minutiae; and partly because they are not sure what the outcome of the treatment is going to be.

In order to reduce your stress levels, you need to differentiate between worrying about the process, versus worrying about the outcome. Patients who are hopeful and optimistic have higher success rates.

The problem is that there are still lots of old wives tales, myths, and misconceptions about the IVF process. Women are worried about the short-term effects as well as long-term risks of the hormonal injections they need to take during the treatment. They are scared they will run out of eggs and become menopausal earlier; or that they may end up having ovarian or breast cancer because they are being pumped full of hormones. They are also scared that the treatment is painful, or that they will need to disrupt their daily life because IVF means they need to take bed rest for a long duration.

Part of the problem is that they are ignorant about the IVF process itself, the scientific basis behind what we do, why we do it, and why its safe. Doctors also contribute to this problem because they are reluctant to share information with patients, and patients are scared to ask questions. They worry about the impact these hormones are having on their body, and Dr. Google confuses them even more, which makes a bad situation even worse.

This is where Information Therapy can be so useful because it helps reduce anxiety levels. They know in advance exactly what's going to happen and why the doctors are doing what they are. They are prepared, and this helps them to track the treatment, so they can see that the doctor is going by the book and that their body is responding as its supposed to, so they stop worrying about minor niggling side effects which are of no clinical importance. This allows them to retain control of what is happening to them, because they know what to expect, and don't get blindsided.

However, worrying about the outcomes is a completely different matter, because we know that the outcome of an IVF treatment is uncertain and unpredictable. While the process itself is straightforward, the fact of the matter is that after we have made the embryos in the lab, we have no control over whether the embryo will actually implant or not after we transfer it into the uterus. Now patients dont care about embryos - they only care about having a baby! This is why they go to pieces when the cycle. However, its important to remember that the only thing an IVF clinic can do is make good-quality embryos. If the clinic has made top-quality embryos, this means the IVF process itself has been carried out properly, no matter what the final outcome may be. This is why patients need to be able to differentiate between process and outcome. and if the process was followed properly, they should have peace of mind that they received high-quality medical treatment, and gave themselves the best chance possible of having a baby