Does extreme psychological burden (Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023) affect in vitro fertilization outcome?

Objective: We aim to investigate the effect of extreme emotional and psychological trauma following Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023, on IVF cycle outcome.

Patients And Methods: The study population consisted of all couples undergoing 2 consecutive IVF attempts with ovum pick-up in our institute, before and during the week of October 8th to 12th, 2023. Embryological/ laboratory variables of the IVF cycles were assessed and compared between the patients' IVF cycle before and those that underwent OPU during the spoken week.

Results: Twenty-three couples were eligible for analysis. There were no differences between the cycles in the length of ovarian stimulation, total dose of gonadotropin used, and the peak estradiol and progesterone levels. Furthermore, while no differences were observed in the number of oocytes and mature oocytes retrieved or fertilization rate, the mean number of top-quality embryos per OPU (1.1 ± 1.7 vs. 2.2 ± 2.9; p < 0.02) and ratio of top-quality embryos per number of fertilized oocytes (0.5 ± 0.3 vs. 0.7 ± 0.2; p < 0.01) were significantly lower during the spoken week. Semen total motile count was significantly reduced during the spoken week.

Conclusions: In the present study, we are witness to the effect of acute emotional and psychological trauma on IVF outcome, as reflected by its detrimental effect on sperm and embryo quality.