Woman, want to get pregnant? Reduce your stress levels

It was thought that stress affects both men and women equally and reduces a couple's chances of conception manifold. But new study says it affects women more and not men.

By: Debjani Arora | | Published: October 4, 2018 2:05 pm

Stress affects a woman's chances of fertility more than a man's. © Shutterstock

Stress is thought to be a dampener in your sex life and also hampers your chances of getting pregnant. Till now it was thought that stress affects both men and women equally and reduces a couple’s chances of conception manifold. However, a new study found that stress can lower conception or fertility in women but it does not affect men as much.

This study does not definitely prove that stress causes infertility, it does provide evidence supporting the integration of mental health care in preconception guidance and care reportedly said Amelia Wesselink, Research Assistant at the varsity. However, stress is still known to reduce chances of fertility in women. Here is how stress can affect a woman’s fertility:

It can lead to anovulation: Stress induces various hormonal secretions in the body that leads to an imbalance in the endocrine system. It disrupts the functioning of the hypothalamus, the gland, responsible for proper functioning and secretion of various hormones of the endocrine system. This in turn also affects the hormones that help in the production of ovum or eggs. When stress comes in the way of ovulation, it is termed as stress-induced anovulation. This condition leads to late ovulation in a cycle or no ovulation at all, hence leading to problems with conception.

It leads to bad lifestyle habits which affect conception: Stress doesn’t always result in reproductive issues directly. The various hormonal changes happening in the body that disturbs the normal functions like irregular sleep, digestion, fatigue, weight gain can indirectly affect the reproductive cycle in a woman.

Published : October 4, 2018 2:05 pm

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