Thursday 18 October 2012

Stress causes Infertility

Infertility and Stress



The treatment of infertility is a tremendously complex process full of odds and surprises. Doctors need to look into each and every aspect that could affect the fertility of intended couples. Dr. Rita Bakshi of International Fertility Centre terms stress as 'one of the major culprits, especially in case of unexplained infertility'. According to her, almost 20% infertility cases do not have any apparent cause and surprisingly, high the stress level was the common factor. Studies also indicate that women with abnormally high stress level have 20% less chance of ovulation as compared to women under normal stress. Also, in case of women with normal production of eggs, the chances of fertilization were 20% less in the women with high stress level. The experts in the field of human reproduction, fertility and pregnancy suggest lowering the stress level to increase the chances of conception and healthy pregnancy.

The impact of stress


The human reproductive system is a complex sequence of actions and reactions controlled by different hormones. Dr. Rita Bakshi refers it as 'the most complicated process dependent on various internal and external factors'. The delicate hormonal balance gets disturbed due to stress and most importantly, it can get ignored or not taken with a proper spirit. Childless couples go to take medical advice and doctors and experts treat the physiological aspect with medication or other process. International Fertility Centre, one of the leading infertility solutions in India looks at stress aspect very carefully and eliminates the possibility of its contribution to the problem.

The treatment of infertility is a lengthy and boring process with multiple iterations of pregnancies and failures. Couples often start losing hopes towards successful completion of one cycle. The painful experience of IVF and ART make them morally down and frustrated.  Immature childbirth, stillbirth and miscarriages keep them on the roller coaster of positive and negative emotions. Every attempt of pregnancy and failure shakes their confidence and lowers the motivation level.

What is the remedy?


IFC and the technicians understand the situation and therefore try to keep the morale boosted by counselling the childless couples. The cases of successful parents are discussed, meeting and sharing of experiences is arranged and the complexities of IVF or ART are explained to the intended couples. However, this is only one part that a clinic can do for the childless couples. There are some steps that the intended couple, their family and friends can also take in order to keep the stress level lower.

  1. Couples must keep the patience level very high and always keep on reminding self about the time required for success. There is no point in expecting a baby with only one attempt of IVF and then start getting frustrated.
  2. Positive energy, positive attitude and optimistic mindset are extremely required. Knowing about   the happy-ending stories of other couples helps a lot.
  3. Take a break from the treatment for few days and use that in a beach resort, adventure camp or animal safari. It will divert the attention completely from infertility and couple tends to be more relaxed and charged to go for next treatment cycles.


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