What Is The Correlation Between Stress And Infertility?

1. Stress and Infertility: The Cycle of Harm
2. Impact on Treatment Outcome: Can stress make you infertile?
3. Miscarriage and Repeat Failure: Does stress affect fertility?
4. Stress, Depression and Anxiety
5. Stress Management

Can stress make you infertile? No, but it can significantly influence the process of conception. Even if conception occurs through an IVF procedure, even using a donor egg.

Quite a lot of research has been done to determine whether and how stress affects fertility. Let's consider their results in this material.

Stress and Infertility: The Cycle of Harm

Impact on Treatment Outcome: Can stress make you infertile?

To date, several studies have been conducted to examine the impact of psychological symptoms before and during access to assisted reproductive technologies. Another goal was to determine whether stress causes infertility. The results showed that women who were stressed before or during fertility treatment had significantly lower pregnancy rates than people who were not stressed at the time of the program.

Another observation from scientists showing whether stress can cause infertility: high levels of the salivary enzyme alpha-amylase are associated with a 2-fold increased likelihood of infertility. High cortisol levels in hair roots are associated with low pregnancy rates, which also explains whether stress affects fertility.

Miscarriage and Repeat Failure: Does stress affect fertility?

Stress, Depression and Anxiety

Multiple failed attempts to conceive can lead to distress, depression and anxiety. A number of studies into how stress affects fertility show that about 40% of women experienced depression or anxiety before they were diagnosed with infertility. For men, this figure was 32%. The conclusion about the effect of stress on fertility is based on the increased incidence of psychological disorders in people who have problems with childbearing.

In addition, the treatment itself can be a stressful factor: reproductive technologies do not always help to become parents the first time. Many people also find medical procedures tedious. This in turn can increase the intensity of stress and further reduce the chances of successful conception.

Stress Management

To reduce your stress levels and increase your chances of a successful pregnancy, you can resort to the following practices:

• identify triggers and ways to neutralize them: situational stress is normal, but experiencing it for a long time will negatively affect fertility. Work-life balance, relationships with your partner - track the factors leading to stress and develop mechanisms to neutralize them. If necessary, consult a specialist;
• do sports: physical activity is a source of endorphins that neutralize stress. The production of endorphins helps you relax and increase your chances of conception. Just 30 minutes of exercise every day is enough;
• improve communication: Openness in relationships and free communication during pregnancy can help solve many problems that are a source of stress;
• therapy: consultations with a psychologist will help you cope with stress, develop mechanisms for neutralizing stress factors, and environmentally friendly behavioral reactions.

Trying to conceive can be a source of anxiety and stress, but stress management can help minimize the impact of stress on your fertility, allowing you to focus on the positive aspects of your journey to having a baby.