Fertility Road Magazine 46 - September/October 2018

MIND
Is Stress Affecting Your Fertility?
The journey through infertility can be a
stressful path, how much do we know about the
impact of stress on fertility?
There has been ongoing debate within the
scientific community about whether stress may
influence fertility and pregnancy outcomes.
Doctors are once more looking at the idea that
stress may actually play a role in infertility
problems. Studies are focusing more on the
physiological effects of stress and how they may
play a role in conception. In the UK 25 % of
couples have been diagnosed with unexplained
infertility. For these couples the effects of stress
can be most profound.
Whilst there is not enough data to draw a
clear conclusion, what is apparent is that when
stress reduction techniques are employed
something happens in some women that allows
them to get pregnant when they were not able to
previously conceive.
What is Stress?
Stress is a normal psychological and
physiological reaction to changes in
someone’s environment.
When most people talk about stress,
however, they are usually referring to
chronic and/or negative forms of stress,
such as having too many demands at work,
relationships or the death of a loved one.
People experiencing chronic stress may
feel that they are unable to handle daily
life tasks, have limited-to-no control over
the direction of their life or more easily
become angry or irritated. This type of
chronic stress can negatively affect a
person’s short-term and long-term health.
When Stress Can Lead to Trouble
Getting Pregnant
Stress can lead to toward unhealthy behaviours
and non-fertility friendly lifestyles. For
example, when you’re stressed out, you may:
• Sleep too much or sleep too little
• Give into emotional eating or not eat right.
• Not find enough time for exercise or push
yourself to exercise too hard
• Drink one too many alcoholic drinks
• Smoke, or, if you quit smoking, start smoking again
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