Stress affects ability to fall pregnant‚ study finds

Feeling stressed negatively impacts a woman’s ability to fall pregnant during her ovulatory window period‚ a new study reveals.

Researchers at the University of Louiseville (UofL) in the United States say that what many have long suspected has been “scientifically confirmed” and women’s high stress reduces their probability of conception by approximately 40%.

In addition‚ women who generally reported feeling more stressed than other women‚ were about 45% less likely to conceive.

In the study (http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797(16)30240-X/fulltext) by epidemiologist Kira Taylor and her UofL and Emory University colleagues‚ 400 women aged 40 and younger who were sexually active recorded their daily stress levels measured on a scale from one to four (low to high).

“The diaries also contained information regarding menstruation‚ intercourse‚ contraception‚ alcohol‚ caffeine and smoking.

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“Urine samples also were collected throughout the study‚ and women were followed until they became pregnant or until the study ended‚ for an average of eight menstrual cycles‚” UofL said.

The mean stress levels during each phase of the menstrual cycle‚ with day 14 as the estimated time of ovulation‚ was then calculated by the researchers.

In turn the negative effect of stress on fertility was only observed during the ovulatory window‚ and was true after adjustments for other factors like age‚ body mass index‚ alcohol use and frequency of intercourse‚ UofL said.

“These findings add more evidence to a very limited body of research investigating whether perceived stress can affect fertility‚” Taylor said according to the university’s statement.

“The results imply that women who wish to conceive may increase their chances by taking active steps towards stress reduction such as exercising‚ enrolling in a stress management programme or talking to a health professional‚” she added.

Taylor also said that some individuals are “sceptical” that emotional and psychological attributes may be instrumental in affecting fertility.

“I hope the results of this study serve a wake-up call for both physicians and the general public that psychological health and well-being is just as important as other more commonly accepted risk factors such as smoking‚ drinking alcohol‚ or obesity when trying to conceive‚” Taylor added.