Stress and Infertility
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Is Stress Keeping you Infertile?
By Dr. Allen Morgan
Stress seems to be an inescapable part of modern life. The demands of a woman's professional and private life mean that she is constantly hurrying to meet commitments. Most of us instinctively feel that stress has a negative impact on our quality of life. What is not widely known is that stress also has a detrimental impact on fertility. Women who are constantly under stress produce prolactin, cortisol and other hormones which can interfere with or even block regular ovulation.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) defines stress as "any event that a person perceives as threatening or harmful." Clearly, a woman who wants to get pregnant needs to avoid unnecessary stress. But how can this be achieved? "One way is by making conscious choices and booking 'quiet time' for yourself," says Dr. Morgan.
Can stress cause infertility?
In rare cases, extreme stress can interfere with normal ovulation in women and may reduce sperm production in men. Stress may lead to a problem with erections, which of course interferes with a couple's ability to conceive. However, while it is possible for stress to cause infertility, it is far more common for infertility to cause stress.
To that end, they now offer stress-reducing therapy in their practice through the adjacent Tiberias Spa. Their goal is to help women increase their chances of conception by reducing stress levels prior to and after infertility treatments, such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) and embryo transfer after In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Some of these modalities include:
- Massage Therapy - There is data which suggests that massage improves fertility and that hands-on bodywork can dial down your anxiety level. Since stress has been shown to interfere with getting pregnant, it makes sense that reducing stress through massage could theoretically improve a woman's odds of conceiving.
- Acupuncture - An ancient Chinese treatment which involves placing tiny hair-like needles in the skin as a way of stimulating energy points which are thought to be central to your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical balance. Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of maladies such as headaches and back pain. For infertility, the needles are placed in energy points linked to the reproductive organs to improve energy flow to those areas.
Most women who choose acupuncture are doing it together with traditional infertility treatments. It is still not clear how the technique works, but there is evidence that it increases the production of endorphins (brain chemicals) which make you feel good and help reduce stress. It may also improve blood supply to the ovaries, which improves their function, and to the uterus, which can make it easier to nourish a fetus and reduce the risk of miscarriage.
Dr. Allen Morgan
Dr. Allen Morgan is the Medical Director at the Shore Institute for Reproductive Medicine. He is Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).
Dr. Morgan completed his Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at The University of Kentucky and completed his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York. Dr. Morgan attended medical school at Far Eastern University in Manila while in the U.S.Army Reserves. He has been in solo private practice in Brick since 1993, offering Ocean County residents a full range of infertility services including IVF artificial insemination, donor sperm, donor eggs, and ovulation medications with monitoring.
For More Information Please visit www.shoreivf.com.