A 2026 study found that infertility is traumatic for some patients, with 9% meeting criteria for PTSD and 32% for complex PTSD, and patient narratives highlight distress, loss of control, and gaps in care.
Infertility is often described as “stressful,” but for many patients, it may be closer to trauma. Trauma is an experience that feels deeply distressing, especially when it affects a person’s sense of safety, control, or identity.
This can happen in several ways:
- Invasive medical procedures
- Numerous cycles with uncertain outcomes
- Emotional and financial investment
- Repeat reproductive losses (ie. failed cycles, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy)
These are all seen in medically traumatic experiences. Some researchers argue that even though infertility isn’t life-threatening, it can still be experienced as traumatic because it threatens a core life goal: becoming a parent. Many patients describe it as a form of reproductive trauma, linked to grief, shame, and ongoing distress that can persist even after treatment ends.
To explore this, Sofia Gameiro et al. (2026) conducted a survey in the UK and Ireland. They included adults who had experienced infertility or attended a fertility clinic within the past 5 years, and asked them to describe their most troubling infertility-related experience.
The researchers then assessed whether these experiences were associated with symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD, while also analyzing patient narratives.
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder): ongoing distress related to a past experience, often involving avoidance and feeling constantly on edge
- CPTSD (complex PTSD): includes PTSD symptoms, plus longer-term effects like difficulty regulating emotions, negative self-perception, and strain in relationships
🔗 Original studies are referenced in this post or within the linked Remembryo posts.
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Who was more likely to experience trauma symptoms?
A total of 590 participants were included, most of whom were highly educated white heterosexual women in a relationship. Of these, 9% met criteria for PTSD and 32% for CPTSD.
Participants who met criteria for CPTSD tended to have more recent and more difficult fertility experiences.
They were:
- less likely to already have children
- more likely to be actively trying to conceive
- more likely to have experienced failed treatment or miscarriage
- more likely to say that fertility care worsened their trauma
How patients described their experiences
Out of the full group, 328 participants provided written descriptions of their most troubling infertility experience. These narratives were broken down into 1,714 ideas, which were then grouped into 7 themes based on common patterns.
For each theme, I’ve included a few quotes to show how these experiences actually feel. For me, these are some of the most impactful parts of the study. They show how IVF can be deeply distressing for some patients and give a perspective that isn’t always clear in the results. Additional quotes are available in the supplementary tables here.
The fertility journey is extremely distressful
- Accounted for 22% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: emotionally taxing treatment; the cumulative toll of repeated cycles; and the feeling that the process becomes all-consuming and affects nearly every part of life
Examples from patient responses:
“I felt consumed by infertility. I felt like everyone was moving on with their lives and I was stuck. I stopped socialising I stopped meeting friends. I didn’t want to hear about my friends’ lives. My in-laws stopped speaking with me as they didn’t agree with fertility treatment. I stopped going for out of dinner in case this affected my eggs. I was upset with my husband if he had a glass of wine.”
“I am so emotionally drained from being pulled and poked around and tested with bloods and weight etc. I mentally don’t think I have the fight in me to try get my treatment.”
Dismissive care
- Made up 21% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: lack of empathy and compassion from providers; poor communication and limited information; and little to no emotional or psychological support during treatment
Examples from patient responses:
“Having a HyCoSy scan was the most traumatic part of my fertility experience. I had very little pre information about what to expect, was instructed quite abruptly that I had to take a pregnancy test at the beginning of the scan (upsetting and a clear lack of reading of my notes by doctors) and then found the scan very painful. I was made to feel like I shouldn’t have found it painful.”
“Transfer failed. No support given. No offer of counselling. We were devastated after each failed round and clinic offered absolutely no support.”
Lack of control
- Made up 16% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: uncertainty around whether treatment would work; long waiting periods and delays; and limited control over access, cost, and treatment decisions
Examples from patient responses:
“I feel IVF is extremely expensive for working people and we still have debts to pay with no baby…with very little chance of success for a high price.”
“The waiting between each part of stimulating ovaries scans and then seeing if it had fertilised and then actually worked. Then if it hadn’t worked, waiting to hear the plan. Also waiting to see if you miscarry…”
Reproductive loss
- Made up 16% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: miscarriage, embryo or baby loss; the shock of an infertility diagnosis; and ongoing grief that is often unrecognized or difficult to process
Examples from patient responses:
“When my embryos didn’t fertilize properly during IVF it felt like I had lost my babies—that they had died.”
“I found that initially getting our diagnosis was so troubling and led to depression and anxiety for me…You are told in a 30 min consult all this info that is just mind blowing.”
“People generally understand miscarriages and the potential for grief and loss. But “just” not getting pregnant is not really recognised as another type of grief… For me each month felt like a type of miscarriage… I would commit myself fully to becoming a mum. And each month I would fail. And each month a small piece of me, or my sanity, hope and peace would fail too. Death by a thousand cuts.”
“Everything about it is traumatizing—physical violation, constant emotional trauma, … the absolute utter grief of it. Grief that has nowhere really to go because it’s a grief for something that never was.”
Social impact
- Made up 13% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: feeling isolated and alone; strain on relationships and intimacy; and difficulty navigating social situations, work, and lack of understanding from others
Examples from patient responses:
“If you are not living it, even those closest to you don’t understand. It’s lonely to be in the dark with only your thoughts—it’s terrifying.”
“The remaining unresolved trauma, I am unable to be intimate with my husband because I felt so violated by all the procedures and surgeries needed over many years.”
“I felt utterly bereft and had no idea what to do next. I ended up leaving my job as a teacher because I could no longer cope with managing such a stressful career alongside the grief that came with the loss of those final embryos and, what I believed at the time, was the end of my fertility journey. It was a double loss. The loss of my embryos, and the loss of a career I loved and had dedicated my life to.”
Medical trauma
- Made up 7% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: painful or traumatic procedures; complications or errors in treatment; and the physical and psychological impact of medical experiences during fertility care
Examples from patient responses:
“I was traumatised by the egg retrieval. The clinic only has analgesia, not sedation, and it was so sore, so traumatising and I imagine it was not easy to do on me as I was writhing in pain.”
“The doctor performing the transfer was new and after 15 mins of trying to insert the embryo asked another member of staff to try. This continued until eventually the consultant was brought in.”
Broken self-identity
- Made up 5% of all ideas described across patient responses
- Key patterns within this theme included: feeling like a failure or not meeting expectations; disconnection from one’s body; and guilt or self-blame related to infertility
Examples from patient responses:
“The news it hadn’t worked again was indescribable. I have never felt that desperate. I screamed for about half an hour and had to be calmed down. These experiences have caused me to truly hate my own body. I’ve never felt so angry, and it is all anger towards myself.”
“The predatory nature of the fertility “market” – supplements, holistic treatments, diets etc. – the things that make you feel like infertility is your fault for the things you have or haven’t done.”
“I felt that if I was out of the way he could meet someone else and have a family with someone who wasn’t as flawed as me and was holding him back from a lifetime of being a father.”
How fertility care affected patients
The study also looked at how patients experienced care during treatment, specifically whether clinics addressed trauma or helped support it.
- Only 15.9% said trauma was discussed by their care team
- Only 26.8% were offered support
- 61.1% said aspects of IVF care worsened their trauma, which was higher (70.7%) in patients who met criteria for PTSD or CPTSD.
Examples from patient responses:
“Having minimal consultation at the clinic, feeling rushed through the process. I feel that our one shot of funded treatment was wasted due to our lack of understanding of the process and how much it was taken from us. We were deer in the headlights with no one really telling us any information that we could understand or process.”
“Acknowledge it. My pain and experience were almost made to feel like I was the only person who’d experienced it being that painful. Almost as though I was being a drama queen.”
“I honestly don’t think that there is anything worse than having to gear yourself up for a scan (which is incredibly traumatic after a loss) and to then have to sit in a waiting room with every other pregnant person.”
Many patients also pointed to what could improve care. Suggestions included more consistent, patient-centered support; better access to counselling and peer resources; and staff who are trained to recognize and respond to trauma. Overall, patients emphasized the need for fertility care to address mental health alongside physical treatment.
Examples from patient responses:
“Understanding the signs and symptoms of trauma, and things that can be put in place to help. If early signs are noticed, then this could stop it escalating to more serious trauma with the right support.”
“The best thing I’ve found in the way of support, has been connecting with other people going through fertility issues. I did this off my own back by hosting walk and talks, advertised at my fertility clinic and online.”
Conclusion
Overall, trauma-related symptoms were common in this group, with 9% meeting criteria for PTSD and 32% for CPTSD, higher than estimates in the general UK population.
This doesn’t mean infertility causes trauma in everyone, but it does show that for some patients, the experience can go beyond stress and have lasting psychological effects.
The results also suggest that care itself can play a role. Many patients reported that their experiences weren’t always acknowledged or supported, pointing to a need for more trauma-aware approaches in fertility care.
That said, this study likely included more people who found infertility particularly distressing, and some groups were underrepresented. So these numbers may not apply to all patients.
Reference
About Embryoman
Embryoman (Sean Lauber) is a former embryologist and the founder of Remembryo, an IVF research and fertility education website. After working in an IVF lab in the US, he returned to Canada and now focuses on making fertility research more accessible. He holds a Master’s in Immunology and launched Remembryo in 2018 to help patients and professionals make sense of IVF research. Sean shares weekly study updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit regularly. He also answers questions on Reddit or in his private Facebook group.
Related posts:
Does stress lower IVF success rates?
Belgian study examines why patients stop fertility treatment
Ejaculation failure on the day of egg retrieval tied to psychological distress
Risk of poor ovarian response with repeat IVF cycles
Pregnancy outcomes unaffected by catheter-retained embryos
How many failed embryo transfers is too many?
Comparing frozen embryo transfer/FET protocols
Improved IVF outcomes when embryos are cultured in groups