Evolution of maternal and paternal-fetus attachment in egg donation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the evolution of maternal and paternal-fetus attachment in couples conceiving through egg donation
IRAS ID
321514
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
IVI FOUNDATION
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Recently many families were built by gametes donation, a reproductive treatment where the ensuing children do not share a genetic link with either parents. However, despite such an increase, little is known about the parent-child relationship. Indeed, only two longitudinal studies provided scientific background about family functioning in gamete donation. These studies showed that in egg donation families, the parent-child relationship was normal for parenting, parent psychological health, and child adjustment. (Golombok et al.,1999; Murray et al., 2006; Golombok et al., 2013; Golombok et al., 2017; Golombok et al.,2005; Golombok et al., 2004, 2006, 2011).
A more recent study evaluated mother - infant interaction in egg donation families comparing them with those created through IVF with own gametes. Data collected showed that in egg donation families the mother-infant relationship quality seems to be less optimal. Mothers were less interactive and stimulating and infants were showed a lower involvement and less responsiveness with respect to their mothers (Susan Imrie et al., 2019).
The sum of the evidence suggests that women conceiving through egg donation likely requires a variable period of adaptation to parenting. Here, we aim to evaluate this interaction at an earlier stage, that is during the gestation. The specific bond that parents develop towards the fetus during pregnancy is called “parental-fetus attachment”. Previous studies showed that the quality of the parent-fetus attachment is predictive of the quality of the postnatal parent-infant relationship and the child development (Siddiqui & Hägglöf, 2000; Theran, Levendosky, Bogat, & Huth-Bocks, 2005).
Our purpose is to evaluate if the lack of genetic link with their offspring could undermine parental attachment to the fetus, comparing couples conceiving through egg donation with those who get pregnant through a standard IVF treatment with their own gametes. In the best of our knowledge, no studies have been performed so far on this matter.
To assess the mother-father fetus attachment, we will administrate standardized and validated questionnaires to couples undergoing IVF with own gametes or donation cycles. For women, we will use the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (Condon, 1993; Busonera et al. 2016). For men we will use the Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS-IT) (Condon, 1993; Della Vedova et al., 2017). Furthermore, to also assess the emotional status of both partner we will use the Matthey Generic Mood Questionnaire (Matthey et al., 2013; 2019; in Italy: Matthey & Della Vedova, 2018; 2020).
Since in the general population the maternal-fetal attachment level increases once women have completed the principal prenatal genetic screenings (like NIPT, CVS or amnio) and once they start perceiving the fetal movements, we will administer the same questionnaire twice: between the 19-23 weeks and between the 28-32 weeks of gestation. This approach will allow monitoring of the evolution of the maternal and paternal fetal attachment at relevant gestational time-points.
Thanks to the knowledge gathered from this study we will be able to develop a specific intervention strategy to promote this fundamental process for egg donation families.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/SC/0161
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion