In Vitro Fertility Goddess

- How stress impacts on your body:

When you are under stress be it mental (anxiety, phobias, depression…) or environmental (ie exposure to extreme heat), the brain will send messages for your body to prepare forn the onslaught these stresses will have. In other words, your brain is setting up the right defences to protect your body from this attack.

- How stress and infertility are linked:

Stress impacts on a particular area of the brain called the hypothalamus which secretes a variety of hormones (Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Estrogen, Luteinizing Hormone and Progesterone) that travel through the blood to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is also called the hypophysis. Here, stress can interfere with the hormone levels, which can result in a variety of symptoms including the failure of the ovary to release its egg in the regular manner creating ovulation cycles which can be all over the place. Stress also impacts on men as some studies have show how extreme stress may reduce sperm production.

- What can you do to reduce stress:

Stress can compound itself particularly in women who are trying to conceive. When you fail to fall pregnant month after month, your stress levels are likely increase as your dream continues to elude you.

But you can break this self-fuelling cycle by attending stress management classes which are offered in many hospitals and community centres. Such classes will teach some very useful techniques to deal with stress and reduce stress levels in day-to-day life. You may also want to seek personal counselling and see a qualified psychologist who can help you identify the type of stress you are experiencing and determine the appropriate treatment. This is particularly useful is you have already become depressed as a result of infertility problems. Meditation, yoga and even massages can also help as eating better and healthier foods can - see Fertility Diet  

At the end the day, the stress you feel as a result on fertility issues affects your partner too who is often in the best position to help you through these very challenging times. So do talk about it and try to engage in pleasurable activities together such as going out for a romantic candlelight dinner or to the movies. That will not only take your mind off it but also rekindle the bond between you which often gets eroded when mechanical reproductive copulation starts overtaking your sex life completely.

Also read 'Stress and Infertility' here »