Music therapy, phone call from physician may relieve anxiety in patients undergoing IVF

As physicians attempt to mitigate anxiety in patients undergoing IVF, new research suggests that music therapy and personalized phone calls may relieve some distress.

The findings were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scientific Congress & Expo.

“Infertility is a stressful condition that disturbs the psychological and emotional wellbeing of couples,” Hema Vaithianathan, MD, MRCOG, a consultant at SIMS Hospital in India, said during a prerecorded presentation.

Music therapy

Vaithianathan and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing anxiety and stress among 144 infertile women who underwent IVF procedures. The women were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive music therapy plus standard care or standard care alone. The patients ranged in age from 21 to 38 years.

Participants in the intervention group listened to music for 15 minutes, 1 hour prior to IVF treatment. Vaithianathan and colleagues used the Beck Anxiety Inventory scale to collect data on the efficacy of the music therapy intervention. Patients were required to complete the anxiety test 15 minutes prior to their IVF procedure.

The mean anxiety scores of women assigned to receive music therapy before IVF decreased from 13.5 to 8.6, which was statistically significant, according to the researchers. Meanwhile, women in the control group experienced no significant improvement in anxiety, with a baseline score of 14.73 and a follow up score of 13.22. There was no significant improvement in anxiety after IVF in either group (6.73 vs. 4.23). Overall, anxiety was low in 73.6% of women, moderate in 18.8% of women and severe in 7.6% of women, according to Vaithianathan and colleagues.
“Infertility is described as a complex, situational crisis, being physically and emotionally painful for couples due to perceived complexity and imprecise pregnancy outcomes,” Vaithianathan said. “Interventions like music therapy can be easily utilized as a complementary way of reducing the anxiety levels in women, especially during the procedural aspect of IVF treatment.”

Phone call during waiting period

In a separate randomized controlled trial, Jaimin S. Shah, MD, a fellow in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston IVF, and colleagues investigated whether a phone call from an “empathic” physician benefited women waiting for their pregnancy test results after an embryo transfer.

“In prior studies, research had shown that one-third to one-half of insured patients stopped care before pregnancy or completion of IVF cycles, with the most common reason being the emotional burden of care,” Shah said during a presentation.

The researchers enrolled women aged 18 to 43 years who were undergoing their first embryo transfer with autologous fresh or euploid cryopreserved-thawed embryos following preimplantation genetic testing-aneuploidy. Patients initially completed an online survey on their demographics, anxiety and depression.

Following the embryo transfer, 116 women were randomly assigned to receive a 5-minute scripted phone call from Shah, who previously received empathy training, 3 to 4 days after the procedure. Their anxiety and depression scores were compared with a group of 115 women who received routine care after embryo transfer. All the patients completed a follow-up survey 8 to 9 days after their procedure but prior to a pregnancy test.

Baseline characteristics were similar between the phone call and routine care groups. About 40% of patients reported a prior anxiety diagnosis and 23% to 24% reported a prior depression diagnosis.

Women in the phone call group experienced lower mean increases in anxiety and depression compared with women in the routine care group (P = .002), according to the researchers. Specifically, the routine care group had an average increase of 7.8 points on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory total score compared with 3.3 in the phone call group. The routine care group had an average increase of 2.4 points on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale compared with 0.3 in the phone call group.

About 55% of patients in the phone call group said that the call from the physician was very helpful, and 81% reported that it decreased their anxiety and distress by a little or very much, according to Shah and colleagues. Moreover, 83.5% of patients in the routine care group reported that a physician call would be helpful during the waiting period, and 86.1% reported that a call would decrease their anxiety and distress.

“Infertility patients have high levels of anxiety,” Shah said. “A physician call, even 5 minutes, can help anxiety levels during the waiting period. Patients are wanting more contact points within treatment cycles.”

References:

Shah JS, et al. O-167. Presented at: American Society of Reproductive Medicine Scientific Congress & Expo; Oct. 17-20, 2021; Baltimore (hybrid meeting).

Vaithianathan H, et al. P-610. Presented at: American Society of Reproductive Medicine Scientific Congress & Expo; Oct. 17-20, 2021; Baltimore (hybrid meeting).