Experiences of Transition to Motherhood Among Pregnant Women Following Assisted Reproductive Technology: a Systematic Review Protocol of Qualitative Evidence
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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL Experiences of transition to motherhood among pregnant women following assisted reproductive technology: a systematic review protocol of qualitative evidence 1,2 1,2 1,2 1,2 1,2 Kunie Maehara Hiroko Iwata Mai Kosaka Kayoko Kimura Emi Mori 1Graduate School of Nursing, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, 2The Chiba University Centre for Evidence Based Practice: a Joanna Briggs Institute Affiliated Group ABSTRACT Objective: This systematic review aims to identify and synthesize available qualitative evidence related to the experiences of transition to motherhood during pregnancy in women who conceived through assisted reproductive technology (ART). Introduction: Women who conceived through ART experience pregnancy-specific anxiety and paradoxical feelings, and face unique challenges in their identity transition to motherhood. It is important for healthcare professionals working with these women to understand the context and complexity of this special path to parenthood, including the emotional adaptation to pregnancy following ART. A qualitative systematic review can provide the best available evidence to inform development of nursing interventions to meet the needs of pregnant women after ART. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider any qualitative research data from empirical studies published from 1992–2019 in English or Japanese that described experiences of transition to motherhood during pregnancy in women who conceived with ART. Methods: This review will follow the JBI approach for qualitative systematic reviews. Databases that will be searched for published and unpublished studies include MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ProQuest Health & Medical Collection, Google Scholar and Open Access Theses and Dissertations (in English), and Ichushi-Web, CiNii and the Institutional Repositories Database (in Japanese). Titles and abstracts will be screened by two independent reviewers in full. The full-text of selected studies will be assessed in detail, and findings and their illustrations will be extracted and aggregated. Any disagreements between the reviewers that arise at each stage will be resolved through discussion, or by a third reviewer. Keywords Assisted reproductive technology; experience; motherhood; pregnant women; qualitative research JBI Evid Synth 2020; 18(1):74–80. Introduction procedures that include the in vitro handling of ore countries are providing access to assisted human oocytes and sperm or embryos for the M reproductive technology (ART) within their purpose of establishing pregnancy. In IVF, eggs healthcare systems, and an increasing number of are removed from a woman’s ovary and fertilized children are being conceived through ART. These with sperm outside of the body. The fresh or frozen technologies include in vitro fertilization and embryo is transferred to the woman’s uterus. In embryo transfer (IVF-ET), intracytoplasmic sperm ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into each injection (ICSI) and gamete intrafallopian transfer egg in a laboratory procedure. Finally, GIFT is a (GIFT). These technologies are treatments or process where the eggs and sperm are mixed and then placed in the woman’s fallopian tubes to establish pregnancy. Among 52 countries, Japan Correspondence: Kunie Maehara, [email protected] reported the largest number of ART cycles in 1 The authors declare no conflict of interest. which follicles were punctured and aspirated. DOI: 10.11124/JBISRIR-D-19-00071 The percentage of total live births resulting from JBI Evidence Synthesis ß 2020 THE JOANNA BRIGGS INSTITUTE 74 ©2020 Joanna Briggs Institute. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL K. Maehara et al. ART in Japan has increased from 0.5% in 1996 to with women who spontaneously conceived. How- 5.5% in 2016.2 ever, methodological limitations and confounding Various studies have described experiences spe- factors may explain the inconsistencies in previous cific to pregnancy after ART. Women who become findings regarding the impact of ART. In particular, pregnant after infertility were reported to have previous systematic reviews only included quantita- greater specific anxiety, such as fetal survival and tive studies. A narrative review that included both normality3-6 and other complex issues.5,7 In early qualitative and quantitative studies indicated that pregnancy, these women reported experiencing par- women have higher levels of anxiety in pregnancy adoxical feelings such as joy and fear, or hope and after infertility treatment, and may experience some uncertainty,8,9 and had difficulty perceiving them- difficulties in the transition to parenthood, leading to selves as pregnant women.10,11 The transition to perinatal morbidity.20 Other qualitative studies sug- motherhood generally begins when a woman finds gested that the process of assuming a maternal out she is pregnant, and represents a process of active identity during the transition to motherhood may engagement.12 However, following ART, pregnant be qualitatively different for pregnant women who women must go through role acquisition and adjust- conceived through ART.11,13,14,16,21 Women who ment, while potentially experiencing anticipatory conceived via ART may also require more support anxiety about the potential loss of a pregnancy or from nurses/midwives to address anxiety during fetus, and feeling ambivalent over the transition pregnancy and allow them to express any negative from an ‘‘infertile’’ identity to a ‘‘pregnant’’ iden- feelings, review their infertility experiences and help tity.5,11,13,14 Women who have undergone ART may them prepare for parenthood.21-23 Understanding also delay developing an attachment to the fetus and the context and complexity of emotional adaptation preparing for the maternal role.15-17 Bernstein13 to pregnancy following ART is important for health- identified various factors that contribute to mother- care professionals working with these women. In ing disturbances after infertility, including a lack of particular, healthcare professionals need to remain appropriate role models for mothering after infertil- sensitive to the special path to parenthood for ity, delayed attachment to the baby, and the dispar- women after ART16 and their paradoxical care needs ity between the image and actual experience of during pregnancy.24 A qualitative systematic review motherhood. During pregnancy, women who have can provide the best available evidence to inform undergone ART face unique challenges in terms of development of nursing interventions to meet the their transition to motherhood. needs of this population. A quantitative systematic review by Hammarberg A preliminary search of PROSPERO, the JBI et al.18 explored the psychological and social aspects Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementa- of pregnancy after assisted conception. This review tion Reports, the Cochrane Database of Systematic concluded that after ART, women had higher anxi- Reviews, CINAHL and MEDLINE was conducted. ety about the survival of the fetus and more early This search identified two quantitative systematic parenting difficulties compared with women who reviews that addressed psychosocial aspects of preg- spontaneously conceived. However, evidence nancy after ART.18,19 However, no current or under- regarding women’s emotional adjustment to preg- way qualitative systematic reviews on experiences of nancy after ART is inconclusive, with some studies transition to motherhood during pregnancy among suggesting it is problematic and others indicating women who conceived through ART were identi- there are self-protective delays in believing in the fied, other than those focused on prenatal care by pregnancy,11,13,14 forming an emotional attachment midwives.25 In addition, previous systematic reviews to the fetus,11,17 and preparing for life with a baby.11 only covered literature published in the English Another quantitative systematic review by Gour- language,18,19 and although they included East Asian ounti19 revealed that women who conceived after studies, Japanese literature was excluded. In Japan, IVF had greater pregnancy-specific anxiety, lower nursing researchers often publish qualitative quality of life, the same or lower levels of depressive research findings in the Japanese language to dissem- symptomatology, the same level of self-esteem, more inate implications from narratives to clinical prac- positive attitudes toward pregnancy demands, and tice. The increasing practice of ART in Japan over higher levels of maternal-fetal attachment compared the previous two decades has produced a growing JBI Evidence Synthesis ß 2020 THE JOANNA BRIGGS INSTITUTE 75 ©2020 Joanna Briggs Institute. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL K. Maehara et al. number of Japanese studies regarding pregnancy becoming a mother26; psychosocial adaptation in after infertility.9,11,14,23 Findings from these studies pregnancy; expressed maternal identity; perceived have not been reflected in previous systematic maternal role and behaviors; and bonding with reviews. We conducted a preliminary search of the fetus during pregnancy. Studies where data were Ichushi-Web, a bibliographic database containing collected outside the pregnancy period, and those biomedical journals and other serial publications based on narratives from other people (e.g., pregnant published in Japan, and no qualitative systematic women’s mothers, partners, friends, siblings) will be reviews