The waiting-list for IVF. The motivations and expectations of women waiting for IVF treatment.

We conducted a written survey of a group of women on the IVF waiting-list at the Dijkzigt Hospital in Rotterdam. The objective of the study was to gain an insight into the motivations and expectations of the women involved. It appeared that the respondents were not very well informed on various aspects of the IVF procedure. They were also too optimistic about the chance that the treatment would be successful in their case. Even if the chance of success was very low (2%) most of the women would still choose IVF. Now that IVF exists the women wish to make use of it. They do not want to run the risk of being sorry later if they let 'the chance of having a child of their own' go by. This 'anticipated decision regret' gives IVF a strongly impelling character. Few women said that they needed a form of social guidance.