Managing your stress while trying to conceive…
Stress is a huge part of trying to conceive. It is often the biggest hurdle for couples on their journey for a few reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that when couples begin trying to expand their family, they really aren’t expecting that it could take time and even assistance, so if often comes an unexpected shock.
The stress that is associated with difficulty conceiving naturally or through therapies (like medications, IVF, IUI, etc.) has been shown to be equivalent to that of someone with a serious chronic illness like cardiovascular disease, chronic infection or even cancer.
This chronic stress has been shown to further interfere with a couples chances of getting pregnant. Chronic stress moves our nervous system into “fight or flight mode” (ie. sympathetic mode), which shunts blood away from the pelvic organs. Adequate blood flow is important for egg quality, and nourishment of the endometrial lining to promote implantation. This can put an unfortunate burden on couples trying to conceive as it may cause more stress over the expectation that they must manage stress.
Stress management is one of the most important factors to our health in general, and it needs to be addressed in almost all conditions, but it is definitely important for those couples trying to conceive (for BOTH partners). It is important to find a strategy that is going to help you cope and support your body to move into a physiologic state of lower stress. Here are some strategies that have been shown to be effective at helping to manage the inevitable stress of trying to conceive…
Counseling
Trouble conceiving comes with a whole new domain of challenges. It is important that these new experiences be acknowledged and worked through as needed.. Working with a counsellor can help to provide you with tools and coping strategies to work with these emotions. Working with your struggle can help to provide you with the strength to accept it, and grow through it. It also provides a safe space to feel heard and understood.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been widely used in fertility based treatments for its beneficial effects on improving implantation rates in assisted therapies like IVF and IUI. It has also recently been shown to help improve ovarian reserve (amount of follicles in ovaries) and egg quality (important in healthy viable pregnancies). It is effective at modulating reproductive hormones to regulate and promote healthy menstrual cycles. Acupuncture has also been shown to be helpful in reducing stress and decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression in both male and female partners. Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment to minimize stress while having additional reproductive health benefits.
Herbal and Nutraceutical Support
Certain herbal therapies, known as adaptogens, can be helpful in supporting our stress responses by regulating cortisol and other stress hormones. Ensuring that you are also supporting your body with proper micronutrients (like B-vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C, etc.) is also important. Ask your Naturopathic doctor if an option like this could be helpful for you.
Mind-Body Therapies
There are a variety of different types of mind-body therapies, like mindfulness-based meditation and guided imagery, that have been shown to support the stress response. These two therapies have been shown in the literature to help reduce stress, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and help improve conception outcomes.
Meditation can be difficult to get started with, especially if it is new to you. There is no wrong way to meditate and your practice can shift every day, having good and bad days. It can be helpful to practice meditation in a counselling session or an acupuncture session to help draw awareness to any areas in which you may want some guidance or understanding. Guided meditations can be helpful for beginners as it helps you gain a better understanding of what can be beneficial to focus on. Here are a few helpful resources that are geared more toward trying to conceive:
Circle and Bloom: Guided meditations for specific days in your cycle and specific to your journey. You can purchase specific guides ranging from $10-60.. They offer a free fertility meditation program (link here) which provides you with ten minute daily meditations.
Expectful: Guided meditations geared for different stages of your journey. They offer a free trial, the subscription is $9.99/month (link here).
Insight Meditation Timer : This app provides thousands of guided meditations, timed music, breathing exercises, and meditations for different situations or emotions (link here).
If you have questions or want to talk more about how stress impacts fertility, you can contact us here.
Anna
References:
Domar A, Zuttermeister P, Friedman R. The psychological impact of infertility: a comparison with patients with other medical conditions. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1993; 14 Supple: 45-52.
Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S. and Walach, H. (2010). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: a meta-analysis. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 8(4), pp.500-500.
Lozano D, Frydman N, LevaillantJ, Fay S, Frydman R, Fanchin R. The 3D vascular status of the follicle after HCG administration is qualitatively rather than quantitatively associated with its reproductive competence. Human Reproduction. 2006;22(4): 1095-1099.
Manheimer, E., Zhang, G., Udoff, L., Haramati, A., Langenberg, P., Berman, B. and Bouter, L. (2008). Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilization: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 336(7643), pp.545-549.
