Did you miss Dr. Ali Domar's "Stress and Infertility" event earlier this month? Here's a brief recap

Feb. 19, 2010

What Exactly is the Relationship Between Infertility and Stress?

There isn’t an infertility patient alive who hasn’t heard one or more obnoxious suggestions: "Just relax and you will get pregnant" or "stop trying so hard" or "just adopt" or "try having a glass of wine - it worked for me," etc. Although many of the people who make these suggestions are trying to be helpful and supportive, many individuals struggling with infertility interpret these comments as "infertility is all your fault - if you weren't so stressed about the whole thing, you would get pregnant."

In all likelihood, your doctor has assured you that stress is not the cause of your infertility and that modern procedures and medications can compensate for any possible impact of stress. But you may still be wondering, is it possible that one’s level of stress, anxiety, depression, guilt, etc. might be decreasing the chance of getting pregnant?

Even if stress doesn’t impact pregnancy rates, it can feel pretty lousy to get depressed every time you hear of someone else’s pregnancy, to dread going into the bathroom toward the end of the cycle, and to wonder why this is happening to you. In any case, how can one possibly decrease one’s stress level while in the midst of the crisis of infertility?

We don’t know for sure whether or not stress causes infertility. There has been some recent evidence that depressive symptoms are linked to some forms of infertility and that the more distressed the woman is at the beginning of her IVF cycle, the less likely she is to conceive during that cycle. But the evidence is not conclusive and until there is some solid research, don’t assume that your level of distress is an issue in terms of treatment success.

It is clear that stress does take a toll on one’s ability to stay in treatment - research from around the world has shown that the number one reason why patients drop out of treatment is stress. It is very clear that many infertile individuals feel overwhelmed with their level of distress, which is why it is a good idea to learn some coping skills. One approach is to find support where you can - from a Resolve support group, from a moderated online chat room, or from people in your life who have gone through it or are going through it now.

Another approach, which is well supported by recent research, is learning mind/body skills. The goal of a mind/body approach is to teach you skills which you can use to increase your sense of control, decrease both physical and psychological symptoms of stress (such as insomnia, headaches, irritability, fatigue, abdominal pain, headaches, etc), and help decrease the intense lows of infertility. The skills include physical techniques such as relaxation techniques and information on lifestyle habits which can impact fertility, and psychological techniques such as learning to challenge recurrent negative thoughts such as "I will never have a baby," or "this is all my fault." The research indicates both excellent reductions in anxiety, depression and hostility, as well as increases in pregnancy rates, with the most recent research showing a more than doubling of IVF success rates.

Mind/body techniques can be taught both individually and in groups; the research has only been conducted on those who have participated in group programs. The goal of a mind/body approach is to help you get your life back, to become the person you were before you started trying, to feel healthy and whole even as you continue to pursue your dream of parenthood.

Alice D. Domar, Ph.D, is the executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health, Director of Mind Body Services at Boston IVF, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of six books, including "Conquering Infertility" and her most recent, "Live a Little." Her Web site is www.domarcenter.com.