The Role of the Father-to-Be in IVF Treatment

It is very important for the mother to be healthy in IVF treatment. The mother should pay attention to everything from her nutrition to her physiological health. During this process, she should be careful about every food that enters her body and try to be psychologically healthy. In couples who want to have a baby through IVF, various medications are given to the woman and hormone therapy is applied. During this process, the woman experiences stress due to the increase in hormones and psychological changes occur. There are certain duties that the father candidate must comply with in this treatment. There are certain treatments applied to the father candidate. However, generally the entire burden falls on the mother candidate. For this reason, the father candidate should support his wife during this process, tolerate her whims and flirtation and try to reduce his wife’s troubles.

How should fathers- to-be behave during the in vitro fertilization process?

IVF treatment involves a very delicate process. During this process, the mother’s excessive stress and sadness can negatively affect the pregnancy and her own health. The father-to-be must be patient during this process. It has been determined that fathers-to-be who are careless and unconcerned during this period will have a more negative impact on the success of the process. In couples who have not been able to have children until that day, the father-to-be should be more tolerant and more attentive to his spouse from the moment he decides to have IVF treatment. It can be said that fathers-to-be who cannot behave in this way are selfish, wanting to have children but putting all the burden on their spouse.

What awaits fathers-to-be in IVF treatment?

Father candidates should be prepared for a stressful period first of all. However, since the father candidate is more conscious during this process, a peaceful, calm and fun period can be spent. During the treatment, the mother candidate’s comfort and peace will primarily be due to the efforts of her husband. The father candidate’s acting considering that his wife’s mental state is due to the hormonal change during this process will be the greatest support he can give to his wife. They should not see this period as a period in normal life. For these reasons, father candidates should prepare for a stressful period. Because starting IVF treatment and wanting to have a child is not a decision that belongs only to the woman. Therefore, it is a wrong behavior for the woman to carry all the burden during this period.

The father candidate, who will also experience difficulties in terms of the cost of the treatment, should be prepared for this at first. In this respect, IVF treatment should be started when it is suitable. Because IVF treatment is an expensive assisted reproduction method. The mental state of the mother candidate should not be damaged by being crushed under these. This will negatively affect the success of the treatment. In this process, the support of the spouses from each other will bring success in a challenging treatment.

What kind of preparation do fathers-to-be go through before starting IVF treatment?

Before this treatment begins, both the mother and father are examined in detail. Although most of the burden of the treatment falls on the mother, fathers also make some preparations.

What fathers-to-be should do: If the father-to-be has a fever during the two months before IVF treatment, he should share this with the doctor. The importance of this is that fevers reduce sperm quality in men and therefore negatively affect IVF treatment. In addition, the father-to-be should share with the doctor any diseases such as inflammation and infection in his genitals. If there is an infection in the genitals, especially due to diseases such as herpes, this should be reported to the doctor.

Father candidates should avoid heavy exercises and do not do heavy sports before IVF treatment. It is beneficial for the treatment to stop such heavy activities at least three months before. They should pay attention to their clothing during this period. They should especially avoid tight underwear. If they have alcohol and smoking habits, they should quit such habits three months before the treatment starts. They should also provide the doctor with the necessary information about the medications they regularly use. When it is determined when IVF treatment will start, they should not have sexual intercourse for three days before this process starts. Father candidates should also not have sexual intercourse for 10 days after the application. In addition, they should not enter hot environments such as hot springs, Turkish baths and saunas for three months before the treatment. Being in such hot places can negatively affect sperm quality. Father candidates, who consider that their spouses will bear all the burden in IVF treatment, should also do their part in advance. They should take the risk of walking on this difficult path with their spouses. They should make all the preparations they can and then support their spouse morally.

What is the role of the prospective father in coping with stress during IVF treatment?

During this process, men also experience a certain amount of stress , although not as much as mothers. Therefore, spouses should support each other by getting help from a specialist if necessary. The biggest responsibility here belongs to the father-to-be. Their spouses already experience stress, even if they do not want it, due to the medications they take and the procedures they undergo. The first person to support the mother-to-be is the father-to-be. After the embryo transfer, approximately 12 days are waited to determine whether the pregnancy has occurred. At the end of this period, a blood test is performed on the mother-to-be. During this period, it is the duty of the father-to-be to make the mothers comfortable and psychologically peaceful. Because this affects the success of the in vitro fertilization application. In order to reduce the stress of the mother-to-be;

• In order to reduce stress, couples need to be understanding towards each other and be compatible in the decisions they make.
• Yoga and meditation exercises should be done to help expectant mothers relax.
• If necessary, couples should seek support from a psychologist to get out of the stressful situation.
• In order for the mother-to-be to be peaceful and have a calm period during this waiting period, she should especially stay away from caffeinated drinks and do light exercises. Since there is no one closer to him than the father-to-be in this regard, the man should not withhold the necessary support from his wife.
• If necessary, the father-to-be and the woman should resort to acupuncture and get support to overcome stress.

In IVF treatment, couples should be prepared both financially and spiritually. Since the woman is actively involved in the treatment, the role of the father candidate is very important in the stages of the treatment. The father candidate should continue his supportive role until the end. The father candidate should be able to handle the important role that falls on him. He should support his wife, make her feel that he is with her under all circumstances, and reduce the stress that her husband will experience.

What is the role of men in IVF treatment?

• If the support that spouses give to each other, especially the man to his wife, while the IVF treatment is ongoing has a positive effect on the outcome of the treatment, the lack of support from the father-to-be to his wife also has a negative effect.
• The mother-to-be suffers the most from the difficulties experienced in IVF treatment. The father-to-be should aim to reduce this burden on the woman.
• In IVF treatment, it does not matter which partner is the one who cannot have a baby, because interventions are made to the mother-to-be in any case. Therefore, the father-to-be should be more sensitive and at least give moral support to his wife.
• The duty of the father-to-be at every stage of this treatment is to show interest in his wife, approach her with love, and wait patiently for the results of the process.