Stay stress free to conceive

By Dr. Shobha Gupta 

Many researches has been done in the past which says that women with high levels of stress were 29% less likely to get pregnant each month than those women with lower levels. Stress causes infertility in women which means the inability of a woman to conceive after two years of constant efforts.  

When diagnosed with infertility, many couples feel helpless and no longer in control of their bodies or their life plan. They become stressed whereas men who work in night shifts affected more as compared to men working in morning shifts with infertility as their biological clock is very badly disturbed. They sleep during the day and to keep themselves awake, they often smoke, which damages the system further. The stress at work place and sitting for long hours at work stations is also found to reduce the sperm count. There are many factors that contribute to stress which further causes infertility like: 

• Marital disturbance 
• Job or business stress 
• Personal injury or illness 
• Death of close family member 
• Late marriages 

Women with hectic jobs are those most at risk, and are often most in denial about the stress in their lives. Stress not only causes infertility, it is one of the reasons for weight gain too. Many times stress may mess up our brain’s reward system and may cause us to crave more fat and sugar. Stress is not a good reason to treat oneself to a burger or chocolate or truck loads of ice cream. In fact, consuming high fat foods is more likely to lead to weight gain. Also, when we are stressed, we also may be more likely to drive through the fast food place, rather than taking the time and mental energy to plan and cook a meal. 

Stress is one of the major causes of obesity and even weight gain in today’s fast paced life. In fact, stress even makes it very difficult to produce optimum results if you are attempting to lose weight. Stress puts the body in ‘fight or flight’ mode from an evolutionary perspective and activates the sympathetic nervous system. This leads to the production of

fat promoting hormones viz cortisol and insulin that leads to weight gain. It also disrupts body’s hunger regulating hormones causing one to eat more.  

These all factors contributing in weight gain which results in obesity which further results in infertility. So, here stress is the major culprit.  

Women often found more stressed than men. Trying to get pregnant adds more pressure on already stressed women. But thanks to the technology due to which we have found the treatment for infertility through IVF or IUI. On the other hand today women as well as men are also trying stress management techniques to overcome this problem. 

There are numerous methods for decreasing stress are available today, including learning relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation and stress management strategies, going for a vacation, deep breathing exercises etc. 

At Mother’s Lap IVF Centre we also provide counseling sessions on one to one basis to couples so that they can freely speak up their mind. This helps in overcoming their problem.

Related Articles: The Pioneer ; The Hindu