Stress can impact all areas of your physical health – including your fertility and pregnancy. At Parla we are huge believers in the mind-body connection, which means we believe where your mind goes your body will follow, There are so many external factors that can cause stress during your fertility journey and pregnancy. Understanding how stress can impact you physically as well as mentally during each junction on your road to motherhood – and having a toolkit of practices you can call upon to help you reduce the stress in your life – can help you navigate the challenges that may come your way.
Stress and Fertility
There is a lot of debate around the connection between stress and fertility, but once thing that everyone can agree on is that struggling to conceive can cause a lot of emotional strain. Whether you are dealing with the frustration of unexplained fertility, rigorous assisted fertility treatments or are trying to cope with loss, when your plans to conceive aren’t going the way you would hope, it can feel like an emotional rollercoaster.
The impact
Doctors are always very careful to not cite stress as a reason for infertility. It can be hard to determine and also opens the door for unhelpful advice like ‘just relax and it will happen’. However, extreme stress certainly can mess with your hormones and your cycles, which is never helpful if you’re trying to get pregnant. When we’re stressed our body goes in to ‘fight or flight mode’ and this can impact all of our bodily functions – from digestion to cognitive ability – so it makes total sense that it can affect our reproductive system too.
Our hormones are in a constant and delicate balancing act, so when one skyrockets – like the stress hormone cortisol – it can throw others – like progesterone and estrogen – off balance. There is certainly a connection between stress and our periods – It’s probably one of the reasons 65% of women have reported changes in their cycle during the coronavirus pandemic. Stress can cause a change in our lifestyle habits – unhealthy eating, poor sleep hygiene – which can also start contributing to reduced fertility. But it’s not just women who have to be wary of their stress levels – there have been studies that indicate that increased stress can also impact male fertility.
Dealing with stress on your fertility journey
Whether you are at the very start of your fertility journey or have been trying a while, learning how to deal with stress can have a positive impact on your whole experience. Here are our top tips for managing your stress levels in the preconception phase.
- Get out of your head and into your body – When you’re trying to conceive, there are a million thoughts going around your head each day. You can start to feel disconnected from yourself and even have negative thoughts about your body. Doing something physical – like yoga or running – not only gives you an injection of mood-boosting endorphins, but it can also give you a sense of control, which we often lack when trying for a baby.
- Keep communicating – If you are worried about how your fertility journey is going, it’s easy to start shutting yourself off. Maybe you don’t want to admit to others – or yourself – that things aren’t going the way you planned or are nervous about opening up to your partner about your concerns. Internalising negative emotions means you’ll become a ticking time bomb of stress. Keep talking, keep opening up and know that sharing your feelings will bring you closer to others – rather than pushing them away.
- Practice Gratitude – Setting time aside for a gratitude journaling session is the perfect way to bring some mindful moments into your daily routine. Not only will this quiet time naturally slow your breathing and take you out of ‘fight or flight mode’ but it also gives you time to focus on the positives. Shifting our mindset towards what we have instead of what we don’t will light up the feel-good parts of your brain, helping to reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and overwhelm.
Stress and pregnancy
Once you conceive and are carrying your baby, it would be easy to think that the stress of your fertility journey. But that’s not always the case – and here can be a whole other bunch of emotions that come along with your pregnancy (not to mention your hormones going wild!) If you have struggled to get pregnant or have experienced loss in the past, it’s totally understandable that your pregnancy may come with a lot of anxiety and fear. Whilst that’s totally understandable, there are steps you can take to help reduce feelings of stress during your pregnancy.
The impact
There is a stereotype that pregnant women can’t handle even an ounce of stress – and that’s not really fair. Pregnant women are tough, and stress is a part of everyday life – so the last thing we want is for you to get stressed about being stressed! Over the 9 months of your pregnancy, there are going to be days you feel relaxed and others where you can feel the cortisol rising, and that’s ok.
However, it is sustained periods of stress that you need to be careful of. Just like your baby consumes everything you eat, your symbiotic relationship means it can be impacted by extreme stress that you’re feeling. Research in this area is still at an early stage, but some studies indicate that stress could contribute to an increased risk of preterm births and low birth rates. There is also some research that suggests that children whose mother’s were consistently stressed during pregnancy are more likely to experience mental health issues as adults.
These studies are not totally conclusive, but it does highlight the potential long-lasting power of stress. However, the most important reason to be careful of stress during pregnancy is your own mental health. Pregnancy can take a huge toll on your body, so you want to keep your mind as strong and healthy as possible.
Dealing with stress during pregnancy
- Make time for you – Everyone will tell you that you need to make the most of your me-time before your baby comes along, and they have a point. Preparing for their arrival can become an all-consuming to-do list. So remember to take time out to do something that you love and is solely for your enjoyment and mental wellbeing. Whether it’s reading, meditation or exercising – try to take some time each day that is dedicated to you.
- Communities without comparison – If you don’t have friends experiencing pregnancy at the same time as you, it can be a little isolating. There are some incredible communities both offline and online that will help you connect with other mums-to-be – but be wary negative emotions like comparison or overwhelm that can creep in if you get in too deep. Listen to yourself and if you need to step away now and again, that’s ok!
- Avoid Dr Google – If you are experiencing concerns or anxiety around your pregnancy, talk to people you trust. It’s easy to fall down a Dr Google rabbit hole that can scare and stress you out even more, but talking to your doctor, midwife or partner – people who know you and your personal circumstances – is a much better way to get reassurance.
