A qualitative investigation of the experience of participation in Mindfulness-based Intervention for IVF-ET (MBII) with Chinese women undergoing first IVF-ET.
Jing Li, Hong Luo, Ling Long
PMID 30918700WHAT IT FOUND
Women undergoing first IVF-ET described mindfulness as helping them calm emotions, notice body sensations, sleep better, feel closer to partners, and accept infertility.
These were their reported experiences, not proof the programme worked.
Key findings
01After the mindfulness programme, all 38 participants said they were aware of inner calm that helped them feel better and think clearly.
02Twenty-nine women reported that mindfulness practices helped them deal with physical pain and discomfort, and 35 women described sleep improvements.
03Four themes were identified from women's reports: improved infertility-related quality of life, enhanced awareness, regained control over life, and increased acceptance; 33 participants said they were kinder to themselves.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a qualitative interview and diary study, so it reports what women said, not whether mindfulness caused any change. Only women who attended all six sessions and completed diaries were analysed, so experiences of those who dropped out or found it too hard are missing. The study analysed only the intervention group, not the control group from the parent non-randomised trial. Interview questions were based on the FertiQoL survey, which may have limited what participants talked about. Findings reflect experiences during and immediately after the programme, not long-term outcomes. The diaries had fixed headings, so some experiences may not have been captured. Results are not generalisable beyond this group of women undergoing first IVF-ET.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that mindfulness improves IVF outcomes or quality of life. It reports what 38 women said after a programme embedded in a non-randomized trial, with no control group analysed here and no causal effect tested.