While it's unlikely that stress alone can cause infertility, stress interferes with a woman's ability to get pregnant. Research has shown that women with a history of depression are twice as likely to experience infertility. Anxiety also can prolong the time needed to achieve pregnancy.
Mental stress can lead to an increased endogenous level of epinephrine. Excessive epinephrine level may interfere with the decidual differentiation of human endometrial stromal cells and thus affect embryo implantation.
That's because stress can affect the functioning of the hypothalamus – the gland in the brain that regulates your appetite and emotions, as well as the hormones that tell your ovaries to release eggs. If you're stressed out, you may ovulate later in your cycle or not at all.
The increased level of stress hormone such as cortisol reduces estradiol production possibly by affecting the granulosa cell functions within the follicle, which results deterioration in oocyte quality.
Risk factors
age – fertility declines with age. weight – being overweight or obese (having a BMI of 30 or over) reduces fertility; in women, being overweight or severely underweight can affect ovulation. sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – several STIs, including chlamydia, can affect fertility.
What Causes Infertility? Problems with ovulation are the most common reasons for infertility in women. A woman's age, hormonal imbalances, weight, exposure to chemicals or radiation and cigarette smoking all have an impact on fertility.
The main symptom of infertility is not getting pregnant. There may be no other obvious symptoms. Sometimes, women with infertility may have irregular or absent menstrual periods. In some cases, men with infertility may have some signs of hormonal problems, such as changes in hair growth or sexual function.
You could be worrying that you never will. However, there are many possible reasons why you aren't conceiving, including ovulation irregularities, structural problems in the reproductive system, low sperm count, underlying medical problems, or simply not trying enough.
"Women can also experience changes in blood flow to the uterus in response to stress," adds Keye. "This affects implantation because the uterus doesn't become very receptive to eggs. And contractions inside the uterus may become more frequent, which makes it less likely for a woman to become pregnant."
Stress can even shut down activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis, which controls the reproductive system. This can disrupt the connection between your brain and your ovaries and cause delayed or absent ovulation and irregular or missed periods.
However, late ovulation can occur in almost any woman occasionally. Infrequent late ovulation is not typically a cause for concern. Common causes of late ovulation include stress, breastfeeding, and medical conditions, such as PCOS and hypothyroidism.
These mental health conditions can also affect your cycle in a similar way to stress. When you're depressed or anxious, cortisol levels (aka stress hormones) rise in the body. As a result, you get that response that basically tells your reproductive system to stop right there.
Screen for underlying health conditions – Sometimes underlying health conditions can prevent an embryo from implanting. These can include uterine problems, hormonal issues, thyroid problems, diabetes, and many others. Even a prior infection can cause implantation troubles.
High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a baby who is preterm (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or a low-birthweight baby (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces).
Premature implantation may be prevented by an inhibitory system regulated by epidermal growth factor.
Standing up or going to the bathroom after sex may pull sperm away from their destination. So, lying on your back for 15 minutes or so after sex may help keep sperm moving in the right direction.
Can too much stress cause early miscarriage? Answer From Yvonne Butler Tobah, M.D. While excessive stress isn't good for your overall health, there's no evidence that stress results in miscarriage. About 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage.
Most couples will get pregnant within a year if they have regular sex and don't use contraception. But women become less fertile as they get older.
In other words, it means an egg is being released from your ovaries on a regular basis. But, ovulation alone does not guarantee that you can get pregnant. Sometimes there can be an issue with egg quality, how the egg is fertilized, its ability to be transported to the uterus, or how it becomes implanted in the uterus.
Increase your vitamin C intake: Vitamin C is essential for our body to absorb iron from food. Fruits like oranges and lemons are a rich source of Vitamin C, which naturally help unblock the fallopian tubes.