AssistedConception.org

It is likely that every woman on the planet who has experienced infertility has heard from someone, or from lots of someones, to “just relax”. Or to “stop trying so hard”, or to “just adopt and you will get pregnant” or one of a thousand silly remarks which might have been meant to help you, but end up doing just the opposite.

Telling someone who is doing everything in her power to conceive a healthy baby to “just relax” is insulting, demeaning, and insinuates that her stress level is causing her infertility.
But what is the relationship between stress and infertility? Is it possible that stress is harmless in this situation, that indeed shots and procedures and surgeries override any impact of stress? Or is it possible that indeed stress can play a role in infertility?
If one peruses all the research being done in this field, the answers are not completely clear but there is in fact some relationship between stress and infertility. First of all, infertility clearly causes stress. Women undergoing infertility treatment have equivalent distress levels to women undergoing treatment for cancer, heart disease, or HIV+ disease. And almost half of women seeing an infertility doctor for the first time report symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, compared to a prevalence of about 3% in the regular population. In addition, most of the research on patients undergoing IVF shows that the more distressed the women is prior to starting her cycle, the less likely she is to get pregnant. Some studies have shown that the most distressed women are only half as likely to conceive as the least distressed women. And recent research shows that distress is the number one reason why couples decide to drop out of IVF treatment.
So if indeed distress is a factor, what can one do to reduce stress as one continues infertility treatment? One well researched way to both reduce distress as well as potentially increase the chance for conception is a mind/body approach. The first mind/body program for infertility was started in the US in 1987 and is now offered in many other countries, including the UK. Mind/body groups are designed to accomplish many goals- teach relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety, introduce cognitive approaches to treat the recurrent negative thought patterns which lead to depression (such as “I will never have a baby” or “the infertility is all my fault”, etc), give participants information about the impact of different lifestyle behaviors on fertility, and to do so in a group setting so the women in the group have a chance to share, provide support to each other, and feel less isolated. Groups tend to meet in the evenings and the program is ten sessions; partners have the option of attending three of these sessions.
Research on the efficacy of mind/body programs is reassuring and hopeful. Women who participate report significant decreases in all measured psychological symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, fatigue, etc), decreases in physical symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, shortness of breathe, etc, as well as increases in pregnancy rates. In government funded research, participants in a mind/body program experienced a 55% live birth rate, compared to a 20% rate in women who received routine care only.
The Bridge Centre in London opened its mind/body program in 2005. Participants in their program have been enthusiastic; psychological and physical symptom improvement have been similar to the published research and numerous pregnancies have been achieved.
A mind/body approach helps the individual or couple in numerous ways. Infertility represents the ultimate loss of control, and mind/body techniques allow the participant to regain that sense of control. The skills lead to improved mental and physical health, and may in fact increase the chance of conceiving a healthy pregnancy.

Alice D. Domar, Ph.D

Cradle are in the process of developing the renowned Mind Body Programme in Scotland after training with Dr Alice Domar. This programme was pioneered in Boston, USA in the late 1980’s and has had significant results in reducing stress and improving pregnancy rates. for further information please email us at mindbody@assistedconception.org

Alice D. Domar, Ph.D founded the first Mind/Body Program for Infertility in 1987. She is currently the director of the Domar Center for Complementary Healthcare, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and is the author of several books, including her most recent one “Conquering Infertility” (Penguin, 2004).