Transition to Parenthood in Infertile Couples

Pregnancy and parenting could be complex psychologically for infertile couples who conceived through Assisted Reproduction Treatment (ART). This study examines transition to parenthood of women and men during their first pregnancy obtained with ART. A face-to-face semi-structured interview was administered to 15 Italian couples waiting for the first child after a conception with ART. The interview, aimed to investigate the story of pregnancy, self-imagine as parents and the imagine of child, was analyzed in order to merge principal themes. Results: Medically assisted pregnancy constitutes an extremely stressful, highly medicalised experience, that the couple, however, narrated according to a basic plot consisting in four phases: doubt, final sentence, victory, monitoring. Results suggest need of psychological support and health intervention for infertile couples who conceived through ART.