Online Program Relieves Infertility Distress Everyday Health MenuNewslettersSearch Women's Health News Online Program Can Relieve Infertility-Related Distress Improve Pregnancy ProspectsA new pilot study finds that participating in a 10-week online mind-body intervention mitigates anxiety, depression, and stress for women experiencing infertility. By Stacey ColinoMarch 19, 2020Everyday Health ArchiveFact-CheckedAn internet-based mind-body program may help women facing fertility challenges.Ivan Gener/StocksyDealing with infertility can be a lonely, stressful experience that’s filled with uncertainty and often anxiety. Studies have shown that in-person counseling can decrease anxiety, depression, and stress among women being treated for infertility, and it can lead to higher rates of subsequent pregnancy. But whether it’s due to lack of access or the disinclination to seek psychological help, many women deal with their distress on their own. RELATED: What to Say (and Not to Say) to a Woman Dealing With Infertility Now, a new study published March 18 in PLOS One shows that an internet-based version of a highly respected mind-body program for women experiencing fertility challenges achieved similar results to its face-to-face equivalent in reducing the women’s distress and promoting pregnancy. RELATED: The United States of Stress 2019 Special Report How the Internet Fertility Support Program Works In the pilot study, 71 participating women were randomized to either the online version of the Mind/Body Program for Fertility — created by Alice Domar, PhD, who’s associated with the department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School, — or a wait-list control group over a two-year period. The internet-based intervention followed the structure and content of the in-person program, including a 10-week protocol of information, exercises, and homework. The difference: The online program consisted of 10 sequential, self-guided modules and assigned practice exercises, as well as opportunities for feedback from a therapist who was available remotely as needed throughout the program. Coping Cues Exercises That Help Promote Stress Management Mindfulness The sessions focused on the relationship between stress, lifestyle, and fertility; relaxation techniques including diaphragmatic breathing and hatha yoga, and mindfulness; plus cognitive reframing, stress reduction strategies, improving listening and communication skills, strategies for emotional expression and coping with anger, assertiveness training, and goal-setting skills. Between modules, participants were asked to track their health-related behavior, time spent doing the relaxation exercises, and use of cognitive behavioral therapy tools. RELATED: 14 Instant Ways to Calm Yourself Down The results? Despite the fact that only 39 percent of the women in the internet program completed all 10 modules, all of the women in that intervention group had significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and stress and — drumroll, please — were 4.5 times more likely to become pregnant than those in the control group. RELATED: Subfertility and Infertility: What’s the Difference? “The results very closely mimic the results of the in-person program in terms of psychological benefits and pregnancy rates,” says study coauthor Dr. Domar, chief psychologist and director of integrative care at Boston IVF. “The idea of turning this into an online program was very appealing because millennials, who are going to be all our new patients, are more hesitant to come in and become part of a group program. They’re more likely to acquire new information by phone or their computer.” Overcoming Barriers to Seeking Psychological Support In general, “many women who [are dealing with infertility and] would benefit from mental health care are afraid to seek it out because of stigma and fear of being rejected from reproductive medical treatment if they were to admit they need [emotional] help,” says study lead author Jessica Clifton, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and faculty scientist at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. “Additionally, there is a [shortage] of trained therapists who specialize in reproductive care.” Even if a woman finds a therapist she believes is a good fit, she still needs to navigate scheduling issues, cost, transportation, and negotiating time off from work, Dr. Clifton notes. RELATED: How to Sample Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programs Internet Program Is More Accessible Than an In-Person Program Besides offering convenience for all these issues, an online intervention is less expensive, and it’s likely to be more appealing to people who wouldn’t feel comfortable joining a group program. Two other perks: You can do the online program at your own pace, Domar notes, and if you don’t understand a concept, you can watch it again. In other words, it offers opportunities for flexibility and reinforcement. All of these benefits offer a great deal of hope for women who are coping with the stress of infertility, says Tamar Gur, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Ohio State College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. In particular, “the ability to access online high-quality therapy will be incredibly helpful for women who are in areas of low therapy resources or who have trouble attending additional appointments in addition to the stress of making all their infertility appointments.” More Research on Online Fertility Support Programs Needed Because this was a test program, further studies need to be done to replicate these results before such a commercial program is developed and becomes available. In the meantime, two free apps for which Domar co-wrote the content are currently available: FertiCalm.com (designed for women) and FertiStrong.com (designed for men). Each of these contains mind-body and coping strategies that are similar to those in the study’s internet program. And these, too, offer the perks of convenience, privacy, self-pacing, low cost, and opportunities for repetition and reinforcement that can help ease the emotional distress of infertility. 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