Adrenalin is a hormone that is released by the adrenal glands during conditions of stress. Although it helps us to escape from danger, it also inhibits our ability to utilize progesterone, a very important consideration for fertility.
Prolactin, a hormone that is released by the pituitary gland, is usually discharged in order to stimulate lactation in preparation for nursing. However, also under times of stress, the pituitary gland emits more prolactin – in order to impair fertility.
Our bodies know that we should not be pregnant when we are under tremendous stress. Its first priority is keeping us out of danger. Taking care of a fetus when we are experiencing a precarious or tense situation is not an optimum physiological response.
Stress and Fertility
Can the consequences of stress have an impact on infertility? Based on current clinical records, doctors are still trying to come up with an answer to this problem.
Stress issues are thought to play a role in up to 30% of all fertility problems. However, there is no exact treatment that may help couples dealing with infertility caused by stress.
It is well accepted that meditation practices aid in the conception of women who have previously struggled to conceive. During stressful events, stress chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline surge, which can have a negative impact on fertility.
Stress management may be an effective strategy to enhance blood circulation in the sexual system and, as a result, the provision of resources to those areas.
Those females who are infertile are more likely to be depressed than females who do not have fertility issues. Furthermore, the methods of fertility therapy may add to the stress that couples who are seeking to conceive are already dealing with.
People, on the other hand, are affected by stress in multiple aspects. As a result, questions about the impact of anxiety and stress on reproductive functions are hotly debated.
Clinical Studies
There have been few major, definitive studies on the subject. The conclusions of most research are difficult to decipher because they are limited and rely on wildly inaccurate self-reported information. However, based on what scientists do know, there are a few indications that stress might have had some effect on fertility.
According to one of the studies, couples seem to be more likely to have a child when they are joyful and comfortable, as opposed to when they are stressed. Furthermore, a patient’s frustration levels may influence the effectiveness of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF. Higher stress levels in females have been linked to decreased ovulation and conception.
Women with greater blood levels of a certain kind of chemical that rises with stress are much less likely to become pregnant after the first cycle of I.V.F., according to a study published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology in 2018.
Decreased fertility has also been associated to rising levels of salivary alpha-amylase, an enzyme released by the salivary glands in reaction to stress.
According to one study in the journal Human Reproduction published in 2014, women with the higher amount of salivary alpha-amylase seemed to be 31% less likely to have a child after a year of attempting — and therefore considerably more likely to be confirmed sterile — than female with the lower levels of the hormone.
Another investigation from China, reported in the Stress newspaper in 2019, connected greater levels of this molecule to a reduced risk of conception in both males and females receiving reproductive medications.
Stress
The optimum physiological response, as far as our bodies’ preservation instinct is concerned, is to flood the skeletal muscles, dilate the pupils, and remain acutely aware of our surroundings. Our bodies know that we shouldn’t be tired and nauseous and accommodating a pregnancy.
When the stressor is only one of perception, or when we are responding inappropriately to stress with nervous tension, we must retrain our body and let it know that we are not in immediate danger, regardless of our environmental situation.
If you exhibit a pattern consistent with a hyper-sympathetic nervous system, you are likely supplying less blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, thereby impairing their optimal functioning. If you tend to sweat more than normal, have cold, sweaty or clammy hands and/or feet, especially under stress, or if you sweat when you feel anxious, or have night sweats, these symptoms are stress indicators.
Endocrine and Hormonal Factors
Stress, however, is not the only factor. There are many subtle endocrine and hormonal factors that affect our ability to conceive. Most women with irregular menstrual cycles who are unable to conceive are given the diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” because their laboratory blood analysis still show hormonal levels within the “normal” range.
Of course, receiving this diagnosis by itself puts the body into a higher state of stress, because now all we know is that nobody knows what is wrong.
Treating the pattern will begin to resolve the hormonal imbalance! First, alleviate as much external stressors in your life as you are able to control. Then, turn the attention to yourself. What can you take control of to assuage your response to stress (or your perception of stress)?
How to Reduce Stress?
Other stress reducers include:
- Exercise (do not over-exercise)
- Get enough sleep
- Meditate
- Breathe deeply regularly throughout the day
- Yoga
- Sit down when you eat
- Eat frequent, small meals, to keep the blood sugar level more stable and inhibit the release of adrenalin
- Chew your food sufficiently, mixing enough saliva with the food to neutralize and make digestion easier
- Drink a lot of water, but don’t drink during a meal
- Do not drink alcohol or caffeine or smoke cigarettes
- Eat foods which move the Qi like peppermint, rosemary, spearmint, turmeric and thyme
- Supplement with herbs which resolve Qi stagnation and support kidney/adrenal function (get this from a licensed practitioner only)
- Have acupuncture to balance your nervous system and support fertility
References
Top Causes of infertility in men and women https://www.myfertilitysuccess.com/
How stress can impact your fertility https://modernfertility.com/
Stress and Infertility https://www.reproductivefacts.org/
Lora M. is the director of Fertility Health Services in San Diego, California and is the author of the different books and audio CD series. Lora’s work is marked by a ready warmth and deep empathy for all those she serves. People from all walks of life have benefited from her keen ability to help them connect with their deepest selves — and experience their fullest potential for health, happiness and wholeness.