PMA: a survey on the obstacle course of patients

“PMA is a difficult journey to live on a daily basis in many respects, it is for this reason in particular that we wanted to carry out a survey on the experience of women engaged in a course of medically assisted procreation” explains Virginie Rio, co-founder of theCOLLECTIF BAMP!. If the figures from this survey shed light on the daily lives of these patients, for Virginie Rio there were no big surprises in the face of the results… “It is urgent to consider all the impacts of assisted reproduction in the daily lives of women and men, particularly on personal and professional life, sexuality, the couple and mental health,” she insists.

PMA: 92% of women affected by in their daily lives

If medical advances in procreation have enabled many people to become parents, the course of assisted reproduction remains a long and strewn with pitfalls. Besides, the numbers speak for themselves. According to the IPSOS survey (with the institutional support of the Merck laboratory), the course of PMA is described as punctuated by stress, fatigue and disappointment to the point that 82% of the women questioned believe that “no one can understand what they cross”. “While it is difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a woman who is in the process of PMA, I think that talking to her relatives helps to raise awareness on the subject” confides Marie Hazet, editorial consultant and creator of instagram account onlefiv. The PMA impacts all aspects of women’s lives, their daily life for 92% of them, their professional life for 84%, their couple and sexual life for more than 80%: “I was lucky during this course of PMA to be in auto-autrepreneur status as well as my husband. Combining work and PMA can be very complicated and I wonder what I would have done if I had been employed” testifies the 30-year-old, now pregnant after 4 years of PMA.

Medically Assisted Procreation: a long and trying journey

Since the adoption of the bioethics law of August 2, 2021 (the public authorities have chosen to extend assisted reproduction to couples of women and single women), the already very long delays in accessing assisted reproduction monitoring have further increased. accentuated: “the public authorities have only authorized this access to certain public structures, so, obviously, the couples experience an interminable and painful wait” specifies Virginie Rio. Data from the IPSOS survey reveal that 90% of patients find it difficult to wait between the various stages of the ART protocol. A wait all the more trying as there is no certainty of having a baby at the end. “This waiting time is indeed difficult to live with, moreover, we consider each medical appointment as precious. It’s a pity that these consultations are too quick and that couples don’t always have time to ask all the questions they are thinking of” adds Marie Hazet.

PMA: medical support deemed necessary but insufficient

Another essential point raised in this survey is support for women (and couples) during their PMA course. In fact, 95% of women in the process of medically assisted procreation think that the support of health professionals is essential during this period, but only 56% feel well supported. On the other hand, nearly two thirds of women would also like to have more information on the treatment prescribed to them. “These different points are part of our demands: to better take into account all aspects of the assisted reproduction process in the lives of women and couples. Even if today social networks make it possible to exchange with other women and couples in the same situation, this remains insufficient to fill the lack of information and support around the PMA” specifies Virginie Rio. The BAMP collective! has also posted various testimonial podcasts in order to highlight the words of patients during the assisted reproduction process.