A follow-up study of 'successful' IVF/GIFT couples: social-emotional well-being and adjustment to parenthood.

Twenty couples who conceived their babies by in vitro fertilization/gamete intrafallopian transfer (IVF/GIFT) were seen between 15 and 27 months postdelivery in order to evaluate social-emotional well-being and parental functioning. Emotional health and marital adjustment were assessed by standard questionnaires and compared with general population norms. Questionnaires measuring quality of life, parents' feelings about their babies and child-rearing attitudes were also administered. Scores from these were compared with those obtained from a group of parents who had conceived without medical assistance. Results indicated that IVF/GIFT parents were undifferentiated from the general population with respect to emotional health and marital adjustment. Also, relative to non-IVF parents, they gave higher positive ratings for their feelings about their babies and for one aspect of quality of life (feelings of freedom). Parenting attitudes for the two groups differed in only one respect, IVF/GIFT parents reported being more overprotective.