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.
Excess physical or emotional stress can affect the pituitary gland and disrupt the production of these hormones, so the egg doesn't get released. And, it's not only excess mental stress that does this, but physical stress to the body, like too much exercise, can also stop ovulation.
Another study measuring the effect of stress on the outcomes of 151 women going through IVF found that both acute and chronic stress resulted in fewer eggs retrieved, fewer eggs successfully fertilized into embryos, fewer successful embryo transfers, a lower rate of live births, and lower birth weight.
Although age is the main factor affecting egg quality, some diseases, medications, genetic and environmental factors may also cause lower egg quality. Endometriosis, commonly known as chocolate cyst, is among the causes of egg poor quality.
Higher levels of self-perceived stress were negatively associated with Antral Follicle Count (AFC) and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in women seeking fertility care.
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.
Specifically, high levels of stress can affect production of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (SH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH), which are responsible for developing the egg cell and for ovulation.
The main cause of poor egg quality is age, but it is not the only one; there can be other reasons too, including but not limited to pelvic radiation, ovarian surgery, any reproductive illness, genetic abnormalities, chemotherapy, excess consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and some unknown factors.
Egg quality is not a scale of healthy to unhealthy, with measures in between—it's a binary state of either normal or abnormal. Once an egg divides with abnormal DNA, it can't be fixed medically or “healed.” In other words, once an egg becomes abnormal, it can't become normal again.
Irregular period cycle and difficulty conceiving
If you are facing issues conceiving and have not been able to conceive for a while now, it could be one of the signs of bad egg quality.
Precisely how stress might reduce fertility is still unknown. Some experts have hypothesized that stress may reduce libido, leading to less frequent sex. Others have suggested that stress may dampen the immune system in a way that is bad for implantation.
Research on Stress and Fertility
A 2018 study by the Boston University School of Public Health, for example, found that women who had high levels of perceived stress experienced lower levels of fertility than those with less stress.
Conclusion: It can be cautiously concluded that physiological and psychological stress do not negatively affect IVF outcomes. Moreover, high follicular cortisol concentrations might have positive effects on pregnancy rates.
Practice relaxation techniques:
Yoga, meditation and breathing techniques can help relieve tension. They reduce the production of stress hormones and can also increase your chances of getting pregnant.
There are no set guidelines for how much stress is too much during pregnancy. People should talk with a healthcare professional if they: feel anxious, low, or depressed most of the time for longer than two weeks.
Thus, acute stress may induce ovulation in women displaying appropriate serum levels of estradiol and one or more follicles large enough to respond to a non-midcycle LH surge.
Impatience is understandable and many people are looking for ways to improve egg quality in 30 days or less. However, it's important to understand that results can take some time: the window for improving egg quality is two to four months before ovulation.
Levels of CoQ10 decrease as you age. Taking CoQ10 supplements can increase blood and tissue CoQ10 levels. CoQ10 supplementation has been shown to improve egg quality, sperm quality, and pregnancy rates.
If you don't drink enough water, you won't have enough mucus to let the sperm swim towards the egg and fertilize it. Similarly, egg health also depends on our hydration status. If you are dehydrated your egg will not have a watery environment needed to ovulate.
Poor Quality Eggs & Poor Quality Embryos
An IVF cycle can be unsuccessful even with good numbers of eggs (and embryos) if egg quality is poor. Egg quality reflects about 95% of the final quality of an embryo. Poor egg quality, therefore, always leads to poor embryo quality.
Poor egg quality is caused by diminished ovarian reserve and is one of the most common causes of infertility, especially in women over 35. Egg quality is important because it determines embryo quality. Poor egg quality is closely associated with chromosomal abnormalities in embryos, also known as aneuploidy.
High cortisol can also reduce the production of estradiol and deteriorate egg quality. Experts theorize this is how the body protects you from yet another stressful experience — pregnancy. Stress is also likely to decrease your libido, leading to less frequent opportunities for sex when trying to conceive.
There is no clear proof that caffeine affects the ability to become pregnant, but some studies have found that women who drink large amounts of caffeine may take longer to become pregnant and may have a higher risk of miscarriage.
Low Estrogen Levels
An IVF cycle is rarely canceled solely because of lower-than-desired estrogen levels, but if estrogen levels are low, you may have fewer follicles and it is these factors together that might warrant canceling the cycle.