Uncertainty, procedures, expectations and the difficulty in controlling the outcome can generate concern and anxiety throughout the process. Reproductive anxiety can be understood as the range of concerns and emotional responses related to fertility, diagnosis and the different stages of treatment. Scientific evidence has shown that anxiety, depression and a reduced quality of life are common in both women and men undergoing fertility treatment.[1] A comprehensive approach to assisted reproduction must therefore address both clinical outcomes and the psychological wellbeing of patients.

When an individual or a couple begins a fertility treatment process, it is usually undertaken with expectations, desires and images built around future parenthood, including the possibility of sharing a genetic link with the child they envisage. When, due to different circumstances, oocyte, sperm or embryo donation appears as the only alternative to be able to build a family, not only is it necessary to adapt to a medical decision, but also to go through a deep emotional process. In this context, complex and sometimes contradictory emotions may arise, related to the need to readjust expectations and reconstruct the meaning of motherhood and fatherhood as previously imagined.