An assessment of coping with infertility stress and eating disorders in women undergoing IVF treatment

Aim This study was conducted to examine stress and eating disorders in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Subject and methods This study was carried out on 159 women who applied to the infertility unit. The scales used in the study are the Fertility Adjustment Scale, the Scale for Coping with Infertility Stress, the ORTO-15 Scale, and the Eating Disorders Scale. Results It was found that women's infertility compliance scores were significantly higher for normal weight compared to overweight, obese women. On the ORTO-15 Scale, 75.5% of the women were orthorexic, and 43.5% had an eating disorder. The ORTO-15 scores of obese women were significantly lower than women with normal weight and those who were overweight. A statistically meaningful relationship was detected between the Eating Disorder Scale, active ignoring, and active struggling scores, and subdimensions of the scale of coping with infertility stress. The infertility compliance scale scores of those who did not undergo IVF were considerably higher than those who did (p = 0.005). Conclusion It is recommended to provide appropriate training, information, and counseling services for women to confirm their stress levels and learn active coping methods. It is inferred that body weight loss positively affects fertility and is beneficial in IVF treatment.