Research Stress makes women infertile

Stress hurts the fertility of women

24/03/2014

Stress can not only make you sick, but also endangers the conception of women, according to a US study. Their likelihood of becoming pregnant falls, according to the researchers, if they have much of a stress biomarker in their saliva. The risk of infertility even doubles as a result.

Relationship between stress and conception problems
Stress seems to jeopardize the prospect of getting pregnant. A US study shows that high levels of the stress protein alpha-amylase are associated with a nearly 30 percent lower chance of conception. Like the researchers around Courtney Denning-Johnson Lynch of the Ohio State University in Columbus in the trade magazine „Human Reproduction“ women who are having problems with pregnancy should consider relaxation techniques. In the past, studies had repeatedly shown an association between stress and conception problems, but it remained unclear whether emotional distress was not the result of a lack of fertility. The researchers therefore thought up a new approach to exclude this possibility.

Lower chance of pregnancy
The researchers studied 373 women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were seeking a pregnancy and who had no evidence of fertility problems. At the start of the study and at the beginning of the first menstruation during the study period, all participants gave saliva samples. This happened in the morning. The saliva was analyzed by the researchers for the two stress markers cortisol and alpha-amylase. Compared to women with low levels of the enzyme, those with high levels of amylase had 29 percent less chance of becoming pregnant each month. They also more than doubled their chances of not being pregnant after one year of unprotected intercourse. A woman is medically infertile if, despite all her endeavors, she does not become pregnant over a period of twelve months.

Relaxation techniques for conception problems
The researchers found no relation to fertility for cortisol, taking into account other factors such as age or frequency of sexual intercourse. You write: „While this study may not provide a definitive answer to causes, it does provide evidence that stress plays an independent adverse role.“ Women should consider relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation for conception problems. In addition, couples should not put themselves under pressure because stress is not the only and not the most important factor influencing pregnancy. Possible causes of conception problems include, for example, past or unnoticed abdominal inflammations, previous miscarriages or abortions that have caused secondary complications, complications of using the coil, acute illnesses, environmental pollutants, poisoning, improper diet, and overweight or underweight. „Exclusion of stress factors from trying to get pregnant could shorten the time from couples to pregnancy“, co-author Germaine Buck Louis of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in Bethesda (Maryland). „The good news is that women are most likely aware of which stress reduction strategy works best for them.“ (Sb)