Getting pregnant is supposed to be a natural and easy process, but in reality some couples who have been trying to conceive for many months or even years, will realize that having a baby doesn’t come that easy for everyone!
You will often hear suggestions such as “just relax and it will happen” or “I knew this couple that tried for years to get pregnant and as soon as they stopped trying she got pregnant!”. Does all that mean that stress affects your chances of getting pregnant? Well, definitely yes!
In fact, stress affects every area of a person’s life, from your social life to your job to your family to your health; so there is no surprise in the fact that stress also affects fertility!
How does stress affect fertility?
Stress affects the functioning of the hypothalamus which is the gland in the brain that regulates the hormones responsible of your ovulation. So, if you’re stressed out, you may ovulate later in your cycle or not at all. This will lead you to miss the opportunity to conceive, if you’re trying to do it during the expected ovulation time.
You should also know that your body often acclimates to constant, everyday stress, and it is the sudden stress (a death in the family, an accident, a problem at work) that can affect your chances to get pregnant.
Moreover, remember that stress isn’t only a reaction to something negative; positive stresses can also affect your cycle! In fact, brides often report strange cycles because they’re happily stressed about their weddings!
Therefore, it is extremely important that couples who are trying to conceive, work on stress reduction, not only in case stress is affecting their chances of getting pregnant, but also to eliminate stress as possible cause of their fertility problems, so that correct diagnosis can be made!
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