Stress is pervasive, especially right now. Add to that the stress of trying to conceive and it can have a major impact on your chances of getting pregnant.
Stress is a biological state. It is the state our bodies go into when confronted with a stressor, or more accurately a perceived stressor. Studies show that it is not the stressor itself (illness, upcoming election, an “infertility” diagnosis), but our perception of the stressor that determines our bodies’ response to it (whether we get sick from the stress or not).
When we perceive something as stressful, our bodies go into survival mode, activating the sympathetic nervous system (aka our fight-or-flight or stress response), releasing stress hormones, and causing physiological changes that support our ability to respond to an immediate threat (think of a gazelle running from a lion).
Here is how the activation of our stress response directly impacts fertility:
The release of stress hormones cortisol and cortocotropin releasing hormone (CRH) inhibits the release of LH. LH is the hormone that triggers the release of an egg at ovulation. If LH is inhibited due to stress then ovulation may be delayed or not occur at all. Without releasing an egg for fertilization, conception cannot occur.
During times of stress, our bodies prioritize the production of stress hormones at the expense of sex hormones. For the sake of keeping things simple imagine you have 100 pre-hormones available to be made into sex hormones- estrogen, progesterone, LH, testosterone- or stress hormones- cortisol, CRH, adrenaline. If you are under stress, instead of each type of hormone getting their necessary share- let’s say 50/50- stress hormones are getting the majority, leaving inadequate levels of sex hormones to keep your cycle regulated and in a position to support reproduction.
In a state of stress our bodies prioritize survival. Reproduction, like digestion, are low priority when a gazelle is running from a lion. While the stressors of our day tend to have a more insidious onset, the biological response is the same. In times of stress, reproduction is inhibited. Making a baby is very unlikely.
When our sympathetic nervous system is activated in response to a stressor, our heart rate increases and blood vessels constrict (to get blood flow to the extremities that we need to flee or fight). Unfortunately for our fertility, this means blood is diverted away from reproductive organs. Because nutrients and hormones are delivered to the ovaries and uterus via the blood, restricted blood flow to our reproductive organs can significantly impact egg quality, uterine lining quality and thickness, and hormone regulation.
Ok so that’s the bad news. But enough with all the doom and gloom.
The good news is there are things you can do to reduce your perceived stress and/or manage your body’s response to stress.
Acupuncture and acupressure can help regulate the autonomic nervous system, switching the body back from the stress response to the relaxation response, reestablish hormone balance, and promote blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, completely resetting and restoring your body to it’s optimal conditions for conceiving.
Guided meditation and visualization is another powerful tool for resetting your nervous system settings and taking control of your perception of stress. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention without judgement. It is a way of interacting with the world through observation without ascribing a feeling to it. Since the impact of stress on the body is determined by our perception of the stressor, rather than the stressor itself, practicing mindfulness can modify the perception of your experience, which in turn reduces the impact of stress on your body!
What we put into our bodies can be sources of stress (dietary and environmental stress) as well as resources for modulating the effects of stress on the body. Eliminating sources of inflammation- alcohol, caffeine, gluten, dairy- can help to reduce the amount of dietary stress on the body. Eating nourishing, nutrient rich foods can help bolster your system and create a defense again the negative effects of stress. Good fats, the building blocks of hormones, are critical for maintaining healthy hormone levels and hormone balance. Adding antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods and herbs can help reduce and prevent cellular damage caused by stress that can impact egg quality and lining quality. Adaptogenic herbs, such as ashwaghanda, maca, and rhodiola, help the body to adapt to the physiological impact of stress.
Because stress is inevitable, the best way to overcome the negative effects of stress on your fertility is to apply the tools that consistently and effectively shift you back into the relaxation response and out of the stress response. Making a daily practice of meditation, acupressure and fertility-friendly diet modification will provide your body with the support it needs to restore reproduction function and optimize your fertile potential. Stress, of course, is not the only barrier to getting pregnant. There are many other factors that impact your fertility; however by managing stress you will allow your mind and body the capacity to resolve other issues and establish the optimal conditions for getting pregnant.