Anxiety, Orgasm, and IVF: What a New Study Reveals
Infertility treatment can be deeply vulnerable terrain—not just physically, but emotionally and relationally. A 2025 study from the Journal of Reproductive Medicine explored just how much anxiety, depression, and sexual functioning are affected in women undergoing fertility treatment, offering important insights for those navigating IVF or ICSI.
This study, published in Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine (2025), looked at Korean women preparing for IVF or ICSI, comparing their mental and sexual health to women not undergoing fertility treatment.
Key Findings
Higher rates of depression and anxiety:
32.3% of women with infertility experienced clinical depression (vs. 0% in the control group).
12.9% met criteria for clinical anxiety.
Rates of stress, anxiety, and depression were significantly higher in the fertility treatment group on both DASS and HADS scales.
Sexual functioning differences:
Most areas of sexual function—desire, arousal, satisfaction, and pain—were not significantly different between groups.
Orgasm was notably affected: women undergoing IVF/ICSI reported significantly fewer orgasms (mean score: 3.16) than the control group.
Psychological scores were not linked to age, marriage duration, or infertility duration.
This means emotional strain wasn’t tied to how long someone had been trying or how old they were—it showed up regardless.
While the study didn’t pinpoint one exact cause, it pointed to something many already sense: even when sex isn’t being timed to conceive, the emotional weight of treatment can still shift how it’s experienced.
Once you’re in IVF, sex is no longer a means to pregnancy—but that doesn’t mean the pressure disappears. The entire experience—retrievals, injections, ultrasounds, waiting—can cast a long emotional shadow. For many, pleasure takes a back seat to performance, self-monitoring, and medicalized routines. Add in the stress, shame, and hormonal strain, and orgasm can feel distant or even unreachable.
Why This Matters
In my work with clients navigating fertility treatment, I often hear versions of this: “I feel broken—physically and emotionally. Even sex doesn’t feel like mine anymore.”
This study gives language to what so many feel but rarely say out loud. That infertility can dull sexual pleasure—especially orgasm—reveals how deeply it can touch a woman’s sense of self, power, and connection.
It’s also a reminder that mental health isn’t an afterthought. We focus so much on embryo counts and hormone levels, but emotional wellbeing is just as critical. Screening for anxiety, depression, and sexual functioning isn’t extra—it’s essential.
If you’re in the thick of it, know this: you’re not broken. If sex feels distant, if joy feels flat—you’re not alone. And your emotional experience is just as worthy of care as any lab result.
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