I hear so many sad stories of infertility, and women who desperately want to become mum’s but are unable. Or they finally conceive, sometimes after years of trying, only to then miscarry.

Infertility can create relationship stress, not only with your partner, but with other family members and friends. Going to baby showers, or hearing the ‘great news’ of pregnancy from other women can pull at the heart strings and exacerbate feelings of hopelessness, grief, even resentment.

This can create such stress in the lives of a sufferer, but could stress actually be contributing to the infertility in the first place?

In our rapidly changing world, stress has become a daily occurence. Social, professional, personal, chemical…The list goes on. It’s negative effects are evident in all aspects of our life and infertility is no exception.

But is stress THAT important? And how can it affect our fertility?

The hypothalamus (a very important part of our brain) regulates both our stress response, and sex hormones. When we are stressed, we produce a hormone called corticotrophin releasing factor. This activates our HPA (hypothalamic pituitary axis), releasing adrenalin and noradrenalin, and cortisol. The female reproductive system has receptors for adrenalin and noradrenalin. In English, this means that stress can change the blood flow to the uterus, or stop the baby-to-be getting to the uterus.

Stress can also cause an irregular period, anovulation, and even a period that completely stops!

What causes stress? Unfortunately, stress can be a vicious cycle. Women who have trouble conceiving often experience a lowered self esteem, disappointment, anxiety over disappointing their partner, self blame… and this continues the pattern of stress.

So, can reducing stress improve your chances of conceiving? ABSOLUTELY! Of course, it depends what the underlying cause of infertility is, however studies have shown that decreasing stress by relaxation may help normalise menstrual cycles, improve the quality of the egg and sperm, and so increase your chance of fertilisation and implantation.

Stress management programs can reduce anxiety, depression, frustration, anger and fatigue, all of which may be experienced by women struggling with infertility.

The bottom line is decreasing stress is well worth the effort for not only improving life and health in general, but also for women trying to conceive a beautiful, bouncing baby!

To get my PCOS Fertility Special Report ‘How To Have Babies, Even With PCOS’ for free, click here now.

I’m really excited to let you know about a project I’ve been working on for a while now. If you need personalised help, I’m really excited to announce the new Skype addition to ‘The PCOS Clinic’. So many women around the globe are struggling with PCOS, and now regardless of your location you can get the help you need! You can book at www.bookeo.com/ThePCOSClinic If it’s your initial consultation, use the code: Launch_50 to receive a $50 discount as my personal gift to thank you for being an important part of our PCOS community.

As always, feel free to share this email.

Until next time,Dr. Rebecca Harwin
The PCOS Expert
Chiropractor & Bestselling Author of Conquer Your PCOS Naturally
www.ConquerYourPCOSNaturally.com

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