Is stress stopping you from getting pregnant?
If you’re hoping to have a baby in 2024 you might want to look at reducing your stress levels, says Laura Cooke
Quit alcohol? Check. Reduced caffeine intake? Check. Having regular unprotected sex? Check, check, check. Getting pregnant is not as easy as you first think.
While there is a huge list of things the NHS advises men and women to do to give themselves the very best chance of conceiving, one in seven UK couples is still affected by infertility.
Although sometimes doctors can identify the root cause, often the reason for infertility remains unexplained, much to the dismay and frustration of all involved. But if you have done everything you can and are still unable to get pregnant, then it may be time to look more closely at your stress levels.
“Stress affects us all, but can make the fertility pathway a more difficult one,” says Dr Chantal Simonis, a consultant at TFP Wessex Fertility. “It can be difficult to know whether stress itself is reducing the chances of a pregnancy, or whether the failure to conceive is causing stress.
“Some studies have linked stress to reduced fertility, but there are also studies that suggest the opposite.”
Despite the conflicting studies linking stress and reduced fertility, there is no denying that high levels of stress-hormone cortisol, responsible for many functions including the sleep-wake cycle, immune function and energy metabolism, can have a huge impact on our physical wellbeing.
“When people are stressed, physically or mentally, our brain signals to release more cortisol to deal with the ‘threat’. This can then shut down ‘non-essential’ functions such as reproduction to help conserve energy,” explains fertility nutritionist Raquel Monroy. “When our stress levels rise, resulting in high cortisol, our main releasing sex hormone, gonadotropinreleasing hormone, gets suppressed.
“As a result, sex hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone can decrease, which can lead to irregular cycles, ovulatory disorders, implantation issues and sperm irregularities. This can all result in making conception more difficult.”
Londoners Gemma and Steve Mayatt took drastic action to reduce their stress levels when they found themselves struggling to conceive in 2018. Their pregnancy bid started much the same as many other couples. “We took a relaxed approach to it as we just wanted to try and enjoy it,” says Gemma, 33. “But then months turned into a year and nothing had happened. At that point, I started to look into supportive therapies and different things we could change to help us on that journey. “I did acupuncture, I gave up dairy, caffeine, made lots of other dietary changes, exercise, things like that. But then we hit 18 months of no luck, and our doctor referred us to Chelsea and Westminster Assisted Conception Unit, where our IVF journey started.” After five failed rounds of IVF and numerous tests, doctors were unable to pin down any physical reason why the couple could not conceive. So Gemma and Steve turned their attention to their stress levels. “We both had stressful jobs, amplified by an hour and a half on the tube to and
‘‘ Cortisol can shut down reproduction functions to conserve energy
from work, plus there is the pollution, crime and all the things that keep you up and alert,” 42-year-old Steve says.
“Neither of us were particularly good at finding ways to reduce our own stress.
“We started talking about what we would do when we came to the end of our flat rental in Fulham, which was going to be a year or so off.
“Bit by bit, it just started to make sense to move out of London and create a new life, one that actually might put us in a better position.”
The arrival of Covid in 2020 put the couple’s plans on hold, but lockdown gave them space and time to put in some more research.
“We started looking at different places we could move to that would either mean cutting London out completely, or make London commutable. We then very quickly realised that if London was commutable, it probably was not going to remove as much of that stress as we wanted to,” says Steve.
The couple settled on Kendal in the Lake District, just over an hour away from Gemma’s extended family.
“We felt moving somewhere that didn’t have the bustle of a city but perhaps a bit more community, would do us good, as well as being the kind of environment that we wanted to bring our child up in when we eventually got to that stage,” Steve explains.
After a decade living in the capital, the couple uprooted and headed north in the summer of 2021, switched to remote working – and almost immediately noticed a positive change.
“For me, personally, I suffer quite a lot with stress and anxiety, and that dropped heavily within days of us being up here,” says Steve. “I still sometimes feel like I’m on holiday years after moving here.”
After a few months of settling into their new home, Gemma underwent egg collection at Fertility Fusion in Wigan. Three months and two rounds of IVF later, Gemma was pregnant and the couple welcomed baby Minnie this summer.
Gemma says easy access to medical services took much of the stress out of the process. “The thought of doing this in Fulham just makes me feel a bit cold, to be honest,” she says.
“Thinking about the support we had and how easy it is to get to our local hospital or surgery, we just never would have had that in London.
“We had all that nearby instead of having to get in the car and sit in 20 minutes of traffic just to go half a mile, which would’ve been the alternative. From a mental health perspective, there is no comparison.”
Two-and-a-half years on from their life-changing move, Steve says the couple have no regrets, adding: “I think it’s fair to say that there are actually only two things we miss about London –having all our friends and family on our doorstep and the options on Deliveroo.”
However, if you are looking to reduce stress to improve your chances of conceiving, you don’t necessarily have to move to the other end of the country.
“It is sensible to focus on techniques to reduce stress, whether this be through mindfulness activities or increased exercise, reducing known triggers such as excessive workload, and ensuring you get enough sleep,” advises Dr Chantal Simonis.
“It can be helpful to join support groups, either online or face to face, such as in the Fertility Network ( fertilitynetworkuk.org).
“All fertility clinics offer counselling which can be an additional support tool, not just for the person having treatment, but their partner as well.”
‘‘ My anxiety dropped heavily within days of moving house