Stress and Infertility

Many women wonder if increased stress and infertility go together. Do you wonder this yourself? It is understandable to think this way when you're dealing with infertility and possibly undergoing infertility tests. You may wonder about the timing of when to get pregnant and what's causing your fertility problem. All these questions can cause a lot of stress, and infertility can potentially be a result of this anxiety and also hinder your relationship with your partner.

Stress can also effect your hormones, which can potentially get your cycle off track or cause you to ovulate later. If the male partner is experiencing a great deal of stress and infertility is already an issue, this could hinder his performance, which is critical for a couple's success.

The answer to whether stress can cause infertility is "possibly." We all go through stress every day of our lives, and women are getting pregnant all around us. Does this mean they didn't have stress in their lives? Definitely not. But they probably weren't going through extreme life-changing transitions either. Illness, death of a loved one, or other extremely stressful event could definitely hinder a couple's fertility, but common everyday stressors aren't likely to cause a couple to have a fertility problem.

It certainly can't hurt to manage your stress levels and reduce stress as much as possible - for your overall health as well as for maximum fertility. Ways to reduce stress can include exercise, deep breathing, massage, a hot bath, and soothing music.

Dealing with infertility can be very stressful in itself, especially if you've been trying for quite a while. Make sure to do something every day that you enjoy that helps you to relax, especially if it involves your partner too. Try not to think of all the details of getting pregnant quite so much. Write down when you're likely to get pregnant so you can concentrate on those days, and then try to forget about it as much as possible (I know it's hard - It was for me!).

Go from Stress and Infertility to Female Infertility.