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Your Fertility Journey

Your Fertility Journey

Helping you through yours

The Impact of Stress on Fertility

3rd March 2023 · In: Blog, Fertility Facts

Stress is something that often comes into question when talking about fertility struggles.

However, before looking at any of the body’s deeper reactions to stress, it is important to look at what happens when we are under stress.

Fight or flight

Our immediate reaction to stress is a fight or flight response. Our body prepares us for action by getting ready to run away from or fight off the stressor. Blood rushes to our muscles, our brain and other essential organs. At this moment, our body is not going to be prioritising fertility.

Does this response continue to happen?

There is a lot that we still do not know about stress and fertility. However, we can see that stress does not stop us from conceiving, which may come as a surprise.

The reason we know is that areas of the world with high stress levels, perhaps caused by extreme poverty or war zones, can also be areas with the highest birth rates.

We also know that the brain cannot differentiate between stress caused by work, relationships, trying to conceive, or any other cause.

If you are looking to read up on further research linked to stress and fertility, Professor Jacky Boivin has spent 30 years of her career in this one subject area, so it is worth having a look at her work.

The impact of stress on fertility. Image shows a silhouette of a woman looking stressed with hand touching forehead. There is a sunset in the background.

So, can we ignore stress completely when it comes to fertility?

Although there is evidence which suggests that stress does not stop us from conceiving, this does not mean that we can ignore it altogether.

Being stressed while trying to conceive can lead to feelings of misery and overall feeling like you are in a dark place. For our overall emotional health, it is important to look after ourselves and maybe seek professional support.

You also need to consider what you are doing in response to any feelings of stress. Sometimes people can respond by comfort eating, increased alcohol consumption, working more as a distraction, or exercising too much to try and maintain physical control.

It is important to think about what strategies you have been used to manage your stress and whether they are impacting your wider physical and emotional health.

Positive action

To positively manage stress, look at what you can do proactively to take control. Perhaps you could try home testing to feel more empowered or look for support groups or counselling. Strategies will be individual to you.

While your fertility may not be directly impacted by stress, your overall physical and emotional health can still be affected, and this is what you need to take action for.

Our fertility coaching services are available if you are seeking emotional support during your fertility journey.

By: Kate · In: Blog, Fertility Facts · Tagged: blog, Fertility, mental health, stress, wellbeing

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Amy KingAmy King
13:43 16 May 22
Kate is like a wonderfully kind Aunt and a fountain of all knowledge. She is the perfect balance of information and warmth that is needed to help you muddle through. I would highly recommend booking in with Kate at whatever point of your fertility journey you are in. Thank you Kate for your time!
Rachael WildingRachael Wilding
11:41 05 May 22
I had 5 sessions of coaching with Kate Davies prior to, during and in the 2 week wait following my 3rd round of IVF.I’d had a tough time over my 2nd cycle and was losing the hope following a loss earlier in the year and a bunch of very negative test results. I really needed something to help me to get back on track. Sessions with Kate were the perfect tonic. Over Christmas I took a break from treatment and gained techniques from Kate to help build up resilience and self care basket ready for starting a 3rd cycle in February.I started treatment in early February and it went very smoothly. We had a fresh day 5 embryo transfer on 19th February. This was also the due date for the baby we lost last year and the feelings surrounding this date were big and mixed but Kate helped me through it.We had several sessions during the 2 week wait and learnt techniques to try and keep as rational and calm as possible and this was so so so beneficial. On our final session I was able to share the lovely news that it had been successful and we talked about the emotions that came with pregnancy after loss.Being a nurse myself I really appreciated her clinical advice on top of her support and practical techniques she gave to help me through this cycle. The support from my clinic was amazing but they were busy. To be able to sit with a knowledgeable, kind and compassionate healthcare professional for an hour at a time during treatment really helped to keep my stress levels low and to be in the best shape for getting through one of the most challenging few weeks I have ever been through with hope and sanity still intact. My favourite bit of advice was to make a plan for test day to have the time with my husband to talk and reflect on the outcome. We went out for a meal together and just talked and took in the news.I’m now 2nd trimester pregnant with a healthy little baby boy on the way and I still have to pinch myself at times to believe that it worked. It was a dark period of hopelessness following my 2nd cycle and honestly feel that with each session everything got lighter and lighter. I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to and have a baby and having the extra support certainly helped me to throw everything at it too.
Loretta CollinsLoretta Collins
19:58 26 Apr 22
Kate was fantastic, supportive, understanding and extremely knowledgeable . After suffering from amenorrhea for 16 months I didn't know what to do and have been feeling quite lost. Kate has been able to assist me in trying to find answers and maximise my fertility.
Warren DelayWarren Delay
09:18 10 Apr 22
I’ve been working with Kate for a good six months now. First she’s helped me understand my options and some of the tests i need to work through - as I have secondary infertility I’m not going to get much help off the nhs so having Kate there for solid guidance has been great. More recently Kate has helped me with some fertility coaching following a miscarriage which has really helped me to put coping mechanisms in place and feel more hopeful! Thanks Kate!Katie delay (not warren)
L PorterL Porter
08:11 02 Feb 22
Kate is very approchable, answered all of our questions. Excellent advice for us both. Instagram page & podcasts also very infromative.
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This episode of The Fertility Podcast is all about This episode of The Fertility Podcast is all about the practice of Fertility awareness. ⁣
Fertility Awareness may not be a term that you’ve heard previously, or you might be an expert! Essentially the term means understanding your body and becoming more aware of the changes throughout your cycle. I discuss how you can become more aware of what is happening in your body and just how to become fertility aware. 

In the second half of the episode, I’m joined by my colleague Laura, who has developed @read.your.body. This fabulous little App, which I highly recommend, helps you get to know and understand your body. Listen in to hear what Laura has to say about her app and how it can help you when trying to conceive.

We are delighted that this episode of The Fertility Podcast is sponsored by @ovomcare. Ovomcare are redefining fertility care in their clinic, and as well as fertility treatments, they offer state of the art egg freezing.

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You might be already on your IVF journey, or perha You might be already on your IVF journey, or perhaps, just starting out and would like to know more about what's involved. Here is a little bit of an insight into the IVF process and what to expect.
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🩵 Throw back from a couple of weeks ago and our 🩵 Throw back from a couple of weeks ago and our lovely long weekend in Krakow with @richdav1972 @annabellepavitt 

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🩵 Last week on the Fertility Podcast, the lovel 🩵 Last week on the Fertility Podcast, the lovely Kate @fertility_menopause_support joined us to talk about World Childless Week. I want to remind you of something that Kate said that really struck me.

🩵 LEGACY

🩵 Kate gave a refreshing spin on the word and what it means. Many people consider having children as a legacy. But legacy means so much more. It's about you and what you do with your life, in the here and now, not what you leave behind.

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🩵 And, clearly I can’t spell ‘podcast’ in the image above 🤦🏼‍♀️😂

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