This blog attempts to understand infertility and stress and examines whether there is any impact of stress on infertility. It cannot be denied that every person has a modicum of stress in his or her life, yet some of us are able to conceive more easily than others. That is why it is important to understand whether there are any links between Stress and Infertility.
What is Stress?
When you are beset with adverse or demanding circumstances at home or at the workplace, you undergo tremendous mental or emotional upheavals. This situation is said to cause you stress. Instead of physical discomfort, it causes a lot of mental turmoil which affects your life and lifestyle adversely.
The everyday stressors we face
From dawn to dusk we face multiple situations which have a small incremental effect on our mental well being. It could be the early morning traffic on your way to work, the pressure of a deadline to meet as soon as you reach office, the phone call from your child’s school, the quarrel you had with your spouse, or the weekend picnic of your housing complex which you really don’t want to attend. None of these would cause a blow out, but they keep adding up to increase the stress in your life. Sometimes major life events like losing a job or the death of a loved one cause stress as well.
Infertility
The inability to conceive a child even after long periods during which the couple has had unprotected sex is termed infertility. This has become more common among couples than it was earlier, leading many people to believe that there is a correlation between the stress of today’s life and the infertility many couples suffer from. But is it really true that Stress Causes Infertility?
Scientific Causes of Infertility
Before we examine whether Stress May Affect Fertility, let us enumerate some of the scientifically proven reasons for infertility:
• Inadequate sperm count
• Incorrect delivery of sperm
• Ill effects of pesticides, chemicals, smoking, drugs etc.
• Disorders in ovulation
• Cervical or uterine abnormalities
• Damage to Fallopian tube
Does stress cause infertility?
There has been a marked increase in both stress and infertility nowadays. This led people to keep asking themselves ‘Does stress cause infertility?’ The problem with this is that no causal linkage can be conclusively attributed to stress for the instances of infertility. Therefore, no scientific data can be provided to support The Truth About Stress and Fertility. The negative instances of many people suffering equal stress but producing children without any trouble make such a link even more incorrect. We would require studies and surveys on a much larger scale to actually get some data that can help dispel the Myths about Infertility. Many experts are of the opinion that it actually works the other way round. Infertility is what causes stress, they say. Even though no one can conclusively say that stress would definitely lead to infertility, here are a few simple ways to reduce the stress that can result from an inability to conceive:
• Physical exercise has been proven to lead to mental well being. An hour or so of exercise every day can give great results and you would feel the stress ebbing away miraculously.
• Most people are unable to get the minimum required sleep when they are undergoing stress. This should be corrected immediately. You should push yourself into the habit of going to bed early, so that sleep can come easier.
• The best way to display the myth about stress causing infertility is to have sex more often. This will help relieve your stress, and would also increase the chance of conception.
