Images of children born following infertility treatment

Objective: This cross-sectional survey investigates patients' attitudes towards the use of photos of children born following infertility treatment. Materials and methods: Each partner of 270 infertile couples independently completed a standardized questionnaire investigating patients' attitudes towards the presence of photos of children born following infertility treatment in fertility clinics, Internet websites, brochure, and videos. Results: Subjects (77.4%) were pleased to provide a photo of their child to hang on the walls of the fertility centre, a lower percentage of subjects desired to exhibit the photo in the fertility centre website, brochure, and video. Among subjects wishing to hang the photo of their child in the infertility centre, 60.3% wanted the name of the child on the photo and 15.3% wanted both the name and surname of the child on the photo. If a photo is explicitly requested by a member of the fertility team, 30.9% of the subjects feel to have the duty to give it. No significant difference was observed in the desire to provide a photo of the child to hang on the walls of the fertility centre according to sex of the patient. Conclusion: The majority of infertile patients are pleased to exhibit a photo of their babies in the fertility centre. Members of the fertility team should avoid asking explicitly the photo because parents may feel to have the duty to give it.