IVF (in vitro fertilization) popularly known as a test-tube baby; is a scientific method of conceiving a baby for those who cannot conceive biologically. It is gaining popularity with extremely great results throughout the world but there are many parts of the world where it still has not been reached and people are unaware of the process and the positive results of this beautiful gift from science to humanity.In IVF parents who can’t conceive biologically give their sperm or egg to fertilize outside the body and after that it is either transplanted into the mother’s body if the mother is fertile and if the parental mother is not fertile then it is to be implanted into a donor’s body who agrees to the term of carrying the baby for the couple in their body for nine months and give birth to their child. If we talk about India IVF has still not very active as our culture is to follow the biological process till the end but slowly the popularity of IVF is growing and people have come to gain the knowledge of its importance for infertile parents. This process requires a lot of medical attention, social support and financial input. Parents usually avoid following the process because they do not have the proper knowledge and support to do it.
As I mentioned that it requires a lot of medical and social attention for both the parents. The mother or the carrier also require mental health attention in terms of conceiving a healthy baby.
Because for parental mother and a surrogate mother, there are certain problems which come along with the process some which could be the are as follows :
1. Fear of judgement by society if the donor mother is unmarried.
2. Exploitation of the mother by the family
3. Abandonment of the child by the parents after birth.
4. Fear from the donor of not getting paid by the parents after birth.
5. Unsuccessful treatment and result
6. Carelessness towards the mother could cause an unhealthy child and sometimes it results in miscarriage.
Counselling for the parents and surrogate mother is very important as we live in a society where family members and others are not very open about IVF.
The surrogate Mother requires proper attention and knowledge of the whole pregnancy. Also, the mother is to be informed about social, psychological and legal aspects of the process. It’s also important to prepare a mother mentally in case of a miscarriage.
There was a study conducted by Hynes in the year 1992 and it was found that women opting for IVF were more depressed and had lower self-esteem. They were also less confident than a control group of fertile women and, after a failed IVF cycle, they experience a further lowering of self-esteem and an increase in depression relative to pre-treatment levels.
It is important to counsel a surrogate mother about the impact of the process of their relationships to others, dealing with stressful situations in the process, and the coping mechanism in case of a failed result. There are a few more aspects which are needed to be counselled to the mother like to be open up and talking to the right people during the process, staying positive and active while carrying the baby, keeping the spirits up and holding a positive approach towards pregnancy which could eventually lead to a birth of a healthy baby, they also need to be counselling about the fact of keep going in their lives no matter what the results are and keep the self-esteem, confidence high in case of a positive or negative result.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
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About the Author.
Navneet Tanwar is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.